TEXT 5 AaiNaNYae SvGa*h& Pau}Yaa" Pau}a& ivTaTaraeiczMa( ) SvaYaM>auvae Mauda Yau¢-ae åicJaRGa]ah di+a<aaMa( )) 5 )) āninye sva-gṛhaṁ putryāḥ putraṁ vitata-rociṣam svāyambhuvo mudā yukto rucir jagrāha dakṣiṇām SYNONYMS āninye—brought to; sva-gṛham—home; putryāḥ—born of the daughter; putram—the son; vitata-rociṣam—very powerful; svāyambhuvaḥ—the Manu named Svāyambhuva; mudā—being very pleased; yuktaḥ—with; ruciḥ—the great sage Ruci; jagrāha—kept; dakṣiṇām—the daughter named Dakṣiṇā. TRANSLATION Svāyambhuva Manu very gladly brought home the beautiful boy named Yajña, and Ruci, his son-in-law, kept with him the daughter, Dakṣiṇā. PURPORT Svāyambhuva Manu was very glad to see that his daughter Ākūti had given birth to both a boy and girl. He was afraid that he would take one son and that because of this his son-in-law Ruci might be sorry. Thus when he heard that a daughter was born along with the boy, he was very glad. Ruci, according to his promise, returned his male child to Svāyambhuva Manu and decided to keep the daughter, whose name was Dakṣiṇā. One of Lord Viṣṇu’s names is Yajña because He is the master of the Vedas. The name Yajña comes from yajuṣāṁ patiḥ, which means “Lord of all sacrifices.” In the Yajur Veda there are different ritualistic prescriptions for performing yajñas, and the beneficiary of all such yajñas is the Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu. Therefore it is stated in Bhagavad-gītā (3.9), yajñārthāt karmaṇaḥ: one should act, but one should perform one’s prescribed duties only for the sake of Yajña, or Viṣṇu. lf one does not act for the satisfaction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, or if one does not perform devotional service, then there will be reactions to all one’s activities. It does not matter if the reaction is good or bad; if our activities are not dovetailed with the desire of the Supreme Lord, or if we do not act in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then we shall be responsible for the results of all our activities. There is always a reaction to every kind of action, but if actions are performed for Yajña, there is no reaction. Thus if one acts for Yajña, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one is not entangled in the material condition, for it is mentioned in the Vedas and also in Bhagavad-gītā that the Vedas and the Vedic rituals are all meant for understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. From the very beginning one should try to act in Kṛṣṇa consciousness; that will free one from the reactions of material activities. |
TEXT 21 TaPYaMaaNa& i}a>auvNa& Pa[a<aaYaaMaEDaSaaiGanNaa ) iNaGaRTaeNa MauNaeMaURDanR" SaMaq+Ya Pa[>avñYa" )) 21 )) tapyamānaṁ tri-bhuvanaṁ prāṇāyāmaidhasāgninā nirgatena muner mūrdhnaḥ samīkṣya prabhavas trayaḥ SYNONYMS tapyamānam—while practicing austerities; tri-bhuvanam—the three worlds; prāṇāyāma—practice by breathing exercise; edhasā—fuel; agninā—by the fire; nirgatena—issuing out; muneḥ—of the great sage; mūrdhnaḥ—the top of the head; samīkṣya—looking over; prabhavaḥ trayaḥ—the three great gods (Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Maheśvara). TRANSLATION While Atri Muni was engaged in these severe austerities, a blazing fire came out of his head by virtue of his breathing exercise, and that fire was seen by the three principal deities of the three worlds. PURPORT According to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, the fire of prāṇāyāma is mental satisfaction. That fire was perceived by the Supersoul, Viṣṇu, and thereby Lord Brahmā and Śiva also perceived it. Atri Muni, by his breathing exercise, concentrated on the Supersoul, or the Lord of the universe. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā, the Lord of the universe is Vāsudeva (vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti [Bg. 7.19]), and, by the direction of Vāsudeva, Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva work. Therefore, on the direction of Vāsudeva, both Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva perceived the severe penance adopted by Atri Muni, and thus they were pleased to come down, as stated in the next verse. |
deva Ocu" YaQaa k*-TaSTae SaªLPaae >aaVYa& TaeNaEv NaaNYaQaa ) SaTSaªLPaSYa Tae b]øNa( YaÜE DYaaYaiTa Tae vYaMa( )) 30 )) devā ūcuḥ yathā kṛtas te saṅkalpo bhāvyaṁ tenaiva nānyathā sat-saṅkalpasya te brahman yad vai dhyāyati te vayam SYNONYMS devāḥ ūcuḥ—the demigods replied; yathā—as; kṛtaḥ—done; te—by you; saṅkalpaḥ—determination; bhāvyam—to be done; tena eva—by that; na anyathā—not otherwise; sat-saṅkalpasya—one whose determination is never lost; te—of you; brahman—O dear brāhmaṇa; yat—that which; vai—certainly; dhyāyati—meditating; te—all of them; vayam—we are. TRANSLATION The three deities told Atri Muni: Dear brāhmaṇa, you are perfect in your determination, and therefore as you have decided, so it will happen; it will not happen otherwise. We are all the same person upon whom you were meditating, and therefore we have all come to you. PURPORT Atri Muni unspecifically thought of the Personality of Godhead, the Lord of the universe, although he had no clear idea of the Lord of the universe nor of His specific form. Mahā-Viṣṇu, from whose breathing millions of universes emanate and into whom they are again withdrawn, may be accepted as the Lord of the universe. Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, from whose abdomen sprouted the lotus flower which is the birthplace of Brahmā, may also be considered the Lord of the universe. Similarly, Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, who is the Supersoul of all living entities, may also be considered the Lord of the universe. Then, under the order of Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, the Viṣṇu form within this universe, Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva may also be accepted as the Lords of the universe. Viṣṇu is the Lord of the universe because He is its maintainer. Similarly, Brahmā creates the different planetary systems and the population, so he also may be considered the Lord of the universe. Or Lord Śiva, who is ultimately the destroyer of the universe, also may be considered its Lord. Therefore, since Atri Muni did not specifically mention whom he wanted, all three—Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Lord Śiva—came before him. They said, “Since you were thinking of having a son exactly like the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Lord of the universe, your determination will be fulfilled.” In other words, one’s determination is fulfilled according to the strength of one’s devotion. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (9.25): yānti deva-vratā devān pitṝn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ. If one is attached to a particular demigod, one is promoted to the abode of that demigod; if one is attached to the Pitās, or forefathers, one is promoted to their planet; and similarly if one is attached to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, one is promoted to the abode of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Atri Muni had no clear conception of the Lord of the universe; therefore the three presiding deities who are actually the lords of the universe in the three departments of the modes of nature all came before him. Now, according to the strength of his determination for a son, his desire would be fulfilled by the grace of the Lord. |
TaSYaEv& vdTa" XaaPa& é[uTva iÜJaku-l/aYa vE ) >a*Gau" Pa[TYaSa*JaC^aPa& b]ød<@& durTYaYaMa( )) 27 )) tasyaivaṁ vadataḥ śāpaṁ śrutvā dvija-kulāya vai bhṛguḥ pratyasṛjac chāpaṁ brahma-daṇḍaṁ duratyayam SYNONYMS tasya—his (Nandīśvara’s); evam—thus; vadataḥ—words; śāpam—the curse; śrutvā—hearing; dvija-kulāya—unto the brāhmaṇas; vai—indeed; bhṛguḥ—Bhṛgu; pratyasṛjat—made; śāpam—a curse; brahma-daṇḍam—the punishment of a brāhmaṇa; duratyayam—insurmountable. TRANSLATION When all the hereditary brāhmaṇas were thus cursed by Nandīśvara, the sage Bhṛgu, as a reaction, condemned the followers of Lord Śiva with this very strong brahminical curse. PURPORT The word duratyaya is particularly used in reference to a brahmadaṇḍa, or curse by a brāhmaṇa. A curse by a brāhmaṇa is very strong; therefore it is called duratyaya, or insurmountable. As the Lord states in Bhagavad-gītā, the stringent laws of nature are insurmountable; similarly, if a curse is uttered by a brāhmaṇa, that curse is also insurmountable. But Bhagavad-gītā also says that the curses or benedictions of the material world are, after all, material creations. The Caitanya-caritāmṛta confirms that that which is accepted in this material world to be a benediction and that which is taken to be a curse are both on the same platform because they are material. To get out of this material contamination, one should take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as recommended in Bhagavad-gītā (7.14): mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te. The best path is to transcend all material curses and benedictions and take shelter of the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa, and remain in a transcendental position. Persons who have taken shelter of Kṛṣṇa are always peaceful; they are never cursed by anyone, nor do they attempt to curse anyone. That is a transcendental position. |
TEXT 31 Wz Wv ih l/aek-aNaa& iXav" PaNQaa" SaNaaTaNa" ) Ya& PaUveR caNauSaNTaSQauYaRTPa[Maa<a& JaNaadRNa" )) 31 )) eṣa eva hi lokānāṁ śivaḥ panthāḥ sanātanaḥ yaṁ pūrve cānusantasthur yat-pramāṇaṁ janārdanaḥ SYNONYMS eṣaḥ—the Vedas; eva—certainly; hi—for; lokānām—of all people; śivaḥ—auspicious; panthāḥ—path; sanātanaḥ—eternal; yam—which (Vedic path); pūrve—in the past; ca—and; anusantasthuḥ—was rigidly followed; yat—in which; pramāṇam—the evidence; janārdanaḥ—Janārdana. TRANSLATION The Vedas give the eternal regulative principles for auspicious advancement in human civilization which have been rigidly followed in the past. The strong evidence of this principle is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is called Janārdana, the well-wisher of all living entities. PURPORT In the Bhagavad-gītā the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, has claimed that He is the father of all living entities, regardless of form. There are 8,400,000 different species of life forms, and Lord Kṛṣṇa claims that He is the father of all. Because the living entities are parts and parcels of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they are all sons of the Lord, and for their benefit, because they are hovering under the impression that they can lord it over material nature, the Vedas are given to them for their guidance. Therefore the Vedas are called apauruṣeya, for they are not written by any man or demigod, including the first living creature, Brahmā. Brahmā is not the creator or author of the Vedas. He is also one of the living beings in this material world; therefore he does not have the power to write or speak the Vedas independently. Every living entity within this material world is subject to four deficiencies: he commits mistakes, he accepts one thing for another, he cheats, and he has imperfect senses. The Vedas, however, are not written by any living creature within this material world. Therefore they are said to be apauruṣeya. No one can trace out the history of the Vedas. Of course, modern human civilization has no chronological history of the world or the universe, and it cannot present actual historical facts older than three thousand years. But no one has traced out when the Vedas were written, because they were never written by any living being within this material world. All other systems of knowledge are defective because they have been written or spoken by men or demigods who are products of this material creation, but Bhagavad-gītā is apauruṣeya, for it was not spoken by any human being or any demigod of this material creation; it was spoken by Lord Kṛṣṇa, who is beyond the material creation. That is accepted by such stalwart scholars as Śaṅkarācārya, not to speak of other ācāryas such as Rāmānujācārya and Madhvācārya. Śaṅkarācārya has accepted that Nārāyaṇa and Kṛṣṇa are transcendental, and in Bhagavad-gītā also Lord Kṛṣṇa has established, ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate: [Bg. 10.8] “I am the origin of everything; everything emanates from Me.” This material creation, including Brahmā and Śiva and all the demigods, has been created by Him, for everything has emanated from Him. He also says that the purpose of all the Vedas is to understand Him (vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ [Bg. 15.15]). He is the original veda-vit, or knower of the Vedas, and vedānta-kṛt, or compiler of Vedānta. Brahmā is not the compiler of the Vedas. In the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is established, tene brahma hṛdā: the Supreme Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, instructed Brahmā in the Vedic knowledge through his heart. Therefore the evidence that Vedic knowledge is free from the defects of mistakes, illusions, cheating and imperfection is that it is spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Janārdana, and has thus been followed from time immemorial, beginning from Brahmā. The Vedic religion or the principles of the Vedas have been followed by the highly cultured population of India since time immemorial; no one can trace out the history of Vedic religion. Therefore it is sanātana, and any blasphemy against the Vedas is calculated to be atheism. The Vedas are described as setu, which means “a bridge.” If one wants to attain his spiritual existence, one has to cross an ocean of nescience. The Vedas are the bridge by which to cross such a great ocean. The Vedas describe how to divide the human race into four divisions according to quality and working capacity. This is a very scientific system, and it is also sanātana, for no one can trace out its history and it has no dissolution. No one can stop the system of varṇa and āśrama, or the castes and divisions. For example, whether or not one accepts the name brāhmaṇa, there is a class in society which is known as the intelligent class and which is interested in spiritual understanding and philosophy. Similarly, there is a class of men who are interested in administration and in ruling others. In the Vedic system these martially spirited men are called kṣatriyas. Similarly, everywhere there is a class of men who are interested in economic development, business, industry and money-making; they are called vaiśyas. And there is another class who are neither intelligent nor martially spirited nor endowed with the capacity for economic development but who simply can serve others. They are called śūdras, or the laborer class. This system is sanātana—it comes from time immemorial, and it will continue in the same way. There is no power in the world which can stop it. Therefore, since this sanātana-dharma system is eternal, one can elevate himself to the highest standard of spiritual life by following the Vedic principles. It is stated that formerly the sages followed this system; therefore to follow the Vedic system is to follow the standard etiquette of society. But the followers of Lord Śiva, who are drunkards, who are addicted to intoxicants and sex life, who do not bathe and who smoke gāñjā, are against all human etiquette. The conclusion is that persons who rebel against the Vedic principles are themselves the evidence that the Vedas are authoritative, because by not following the Vedic principles they become like animals. Such animalistic persons are themselves evidence of the supremacy of the Vedic regulations. |
MaE}aeYa ovac TaSYaEv& vdTa" XaaPa& >a*Gaae" Sa >aGavaNa( >av" ) iNaê§-aMa TaTa" ik-iÄiÜMaNaa wv SaaNauGa" )) 33 )) maitreya uvāca tasyaivaṁ vadataḥ śāpaṁ bhṛgoḥ sa bhagavān bhavaḥ niścakrāma tataḥ kiñcid vimanā iva sānugaḥ SYNONYMS maitreyaḥ uvāca—Maitreya said; tasya—of him; evam—thus; vadataḥ—being spoken; śāpam—curse; bhṛgoḥ—of Bhṛgu; saḥ—he; bhagavān—the possessor of all opulences; bhavaḥ—Lord Śiva; niścakrāma—went; tataḥ—from there; kiñcit—somewhat; vimanāḥ—morose; iva—as; sa-anugaḥ—followed by his disciples. TRANSLATION The sage Maitreya said: When such cursing and countercursing was going on between Lord Śiva’s followers and the parties of Dakṣa and Bhṛgu, Lord Śiva became very morose. Not saying anything, he left the arena of the sacrifice, followed by his disciples. PURPORT Here Lord Śiva’s excellent character is described. In spite of the cursing and countercursing between the parties of Dakṣa and Śiva, because he is the greatest Vaiṣṇava he was so sober that he did not say anything. A Vaiṣṇava is always tolerant, and Lord Śiva is considered the topmost Vaiṣṇava, so his character, as shown in this scene, is excellent. He became morose because he knew that these people, both his men and Dakṣa’s, were unnecessarily cursing and countercursing one another, without any interest in spiritual life. From his point of view, he did not see anyone as lower or higher, because he is a Vaiṣṇava. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (5.18), paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ: one who is perfectly learned does not see anyone as lesser or greater, because he sees everyone from the spiritual platform. Thus the only alternative left to Lord Śiva was to leave in order to stop his follower, Nandīśvara, as well as Bhṛgu Muni, from cursing and countercursing in that way. |
TEXT 34 Tae_iPa ivìSa*Ja" Sa}a& SahóPairvTSaraNa( ) Sa&ivDaaYa MaheZvaSa Ya}aeJYa ‰z>aae hir" )) 34 )) te ’pi viśva-sṛjaḥ satraṁ sahasra-parivatsarān saṁvidhāya maheṣvāsa yatrejya ṛṣabho hariḥ SYNONYMS te—those; api—even; viśva-sṛjaḥ—progenitors of the universal population; satram—the sacrifice; sahasra—one thousand; parivatsarān—years; saṁvidhāya—performing; maheṣvāsa—O Vidura; yatra—in which; ijyaḥ—to be worshiped; ṛṣabhaḥ—the presiding Deity of all demigods; hariḥ—Hari. TRANSLATION The sage Maitreya continued: O Vidura, all the progenitors of the universal population thus executed a sacrifice for thousands of years, for sacrifice is the best way to worship the Supreme Lord, Hari, the Personality of Godhead. PURPORT It is clearly stated here that the stalwart personalities who generate the entire population of the world are interested in satisfying the Supreme Personality of Godhead by offering sacrifices. The Lord also says in Bhagavad-gītā (5.29), bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasām. One may engage in performing sacrifices and severe austerities for perfection, but they are all meant to satisfy the Supreme Lord. lf such activities are performed for personal satisfaction, one is involved in pāṣaṇḍa, or atheism; but when they are performed for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord, one is following the Vedic principle. All the assembled sages performed sacrifices for one thousand years. |
AaPlu/TYaaVa>a*Qa& Ya}a Ga(r)a YaMauNaYaaiNvTaa ) ivrJaeNaaTMaNaa SaveR Sv& Sv& DaaMa YaYauSTaTa" )) 35 )) āplutyāvabhṛthaṁ yatra gaṅgā yamunayānvitā virajenātmanā sarve svaṁ svaṁ dhāma yayus tataḥ SYNONYMS āplutya—taking a bath; avabhṛtham—the bath which is taken after performing sacrifices; yatra—where; gaṅgā—the River Ganges; yamunayā—by the River Yamunā; anvitā—mixed; virajena—without infection; ātmanā—by the mind; sarve—all; svam svam—their respective; dhāma—abodes; yayuḥ—went; tataḥ—from there. TRANSLATION My dear Vidura, carrier of bows and arrows, all the demigods who were performing the sacrifice took their bath at the confluence of the Ganges and the Yamunā after completing the yajña performance. Such a bath is called avabhṛtha-snāna. After thus becoming purified in heart, they departed for their respective abodes. PURPORT After Lord Śiva and, previously, Dakṣa, left the arena of sacrifice, the sacrifice was not stopped; the sages went on for many years in order to satisfy the Supreme Lord. The sacrifice was not destroyed for want of Śiva and Dakṣa, and the sages went on with their activities. In other words, it may be assumed that if one does not worship the demigods, even up to Lord Śiva and Brahmā, one can nevertheless satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (7.20). Kāmais tais tair hṛta jñānāḥ prapadyante ’nya-devatāḥ. Persons who are impelled by lust and desire go to the demigods to derive some material benefit. Bhagavad-gītā uses the very specific words nāsti buddhiḥ, meaning “persons who have lost their sense or intelligence.” Only such persons care for demigods and want to derive material benefit from them. Of course, this does not mean that one should not show respect to the demigods; but there is no need to worship them. One who is honest may be faithful to the government, but he does not need to bribe the government servants. Bribery is illegal; one does not bribe a government servant, but that does not mean that one does not show him respect. Similarly, one who engages in the transcendental loving service of the Supreme Lord does not need to worship any demigod, nor does he have any tendency to show disrespect to the demigods. Elsewhere in Bhagavad-gītā (9.23) it is stated, ye ’py anya-devatā-bhaktā yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ. The Lord says that anyone who worships the demigods is also worshiping Him, but he is worshiping avidhi-pūrvakam, which means “without following the regulative principles.” The regulative principle is to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Worship of demigods may indirectly be worship of the Personality of Godhead, but it is not regulated. By worshiping the Supreme Lord, one automatically serves all the demigods because they are parts and parcels of the whole. If one supplies water to the root of a tree, all the parts of the tree, such as the leaves and branches, are automatically satisfied, and if one supplies food to the stomach, all the limbs of the body—the hands, legs, fingers, etc.—are nourished. Thus by worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead one can satisfy all the demigods, but by worshiping all the demigods one does not completely worship the Supreme Lord. Therefore worship of the demigods is irregular, and it is disrespectful to the scriptural injunctions. In this age of Kali it is practically impossible to perform the deva-yajña, or sacrifices to the demigods. As such, in this age Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam recommends saṅkīrtana-yajña. Yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi sumedhasaḥ (Bhāg. 11.5.32). “In this age the intelligent person completes the performances of all kinds of yajñas simply by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.” Tasmin tuṣṭe jagat tuṣṭaḥ: “When Lord Viṣṇu is satisfied, all the demigods, who are parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord, are satisfied.” Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Fourth Canto, Second Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “Dakṣa Curses Lord Śiva.” |
PaaPaCYaMaaNaeNa ôdaTaureiNd]Ya" SaMa*iÖi>a" PaUåzbuiÖSaai+a<aaMa( ) Ak-LPa WzaMaiDarae!uMaÅSaa Par& Pad& Üeií YaQaaSaura hirMa( )) 21 )) pāpacyamānena hṛdāturendriyaḥ samṛddhibhiḥ pūruṣa-buddhi-sākṣiṇām akalpa eṣām adhiroḍhum añjasā paraṁ padaṁ dveṣṭi yathāsurā harim SYNONYMS pāpacyamānena—burning; hṛdā—with a heart; ātura-indriyaḥ—who is distressed; samṛddhibhiḥ—by the pious reputation, etc.; pūruṣa-buddhi-sākṣiṇām—of those who are always absorbed in thought of the Supreme Lord; akalpaḥ—being unable; eṣām—of those persons; adhiroḍhum—to rise; añjasā—quickly; param—merely; padam—to the standard; dveṣṭi—envy; yathā—as much as; asurāḥ—the demons; harim—the Supreme Personality of Godhead. TRANSLATION One who is conducted by false ego and thus always distressed, both mentally and sensually, cannot tolerate the opulence of self-realized persons. Being unable to rise to the standard of self-realization, he envies such persons as much as demons envy the Supreme Personality of Godhead. PURPORT The real reason for the enmity between Lord Śiva and Dakṣa is explained here. Dakṣa was envious of Lord Śiva because of Śiva’s high position as an incarnation of a quality of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and because Śiva was directly in contact with the Supersoul and was therefore honored and given a better sitting place than he. There were many other reasons also. Dakṣa, being materially puffed up, could not tolerate the high position of Lord Śiva, so his anger at Lord Śiva’s not standing up in his presence was only the final manifestation of his envy. Lord Śiva is always in meditation and always perceives the Supersoul, as expressed here by the words pūruṣa-buddhi-sākṣiṇām. The position of one whose intelligence is always absorbed in meditation upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead is very great and cannot be imitated by anyone, especially an ordinary person. When Dakṣa entered the arena of yajña, Lord Śiva was in meditation and might not have seen Dakṣa enter, but Dakṣa took the opportunity to curse him because Dakṣa had maintained an envious attitude towards Lord Śiva for a long time. Those who are actually self-realized see every individual body as a temple of the Supreme Personality of Godhead because the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in His Paramātmā feature, is residing in everyone’s body. When one offers respect to the body, it is not to the material body but to the presence of the Supreme Lord. Thus one who is always in meditation upon the Supreme Lord is always offering Him obeisances. But since Dakṣa was not very elevated, he thought that obeisances were offered to the material body, and because Lord Śiva did not offer respect to his material body, Dakṣa became envious. Such persons, being unable to rise to the standard of self-realized souls like Lord Śiva, are always envious. The example given here is very suitable. Asuras, demons or atheists, are always envious of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; they simply want to kill Him. Even in this age we find some so-called scholars commenting on Bhagavad-gītā who are envious of Kṛṣṇa. When Kṛṣṇa says, man-manā bhava mad-bhaktaḥ (Bg. 18.65)—“Always think of Me, become My devotee, and surrender unto Me”—the so-called scholars comment that it is not to Kṛṣṇa that we have to surrender. That is envy. The asuras or atheists, the demons, without reason or cause, are envious of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Similarly, instead of offering respect to self-realized persons, foolish men who cannot approach the highest standard of self-realization are always envious, although there is no reason. |
Satv& ivéuÖ& vSaudevXaiBdTa& YadqYaTae Ta}a PauMaaNaPaav*Ta" ) Satve c TaiSMaNa( >aGavaNa( vaSaudevae ùDaae+aJaae Mae NaMaSaa ivDaqYaTae )) 23 )) sattvaṁ viśuddhaṁ vasudeva-śabditaṁ yad īyate tatra pumān apāvṛtaḥ sattve ca tasmin bhagavān vāsudevo hy adhokṣajo me namasā vidhīyate SYNONYMS sattvam—consciousness; viśuddham—pure; vasudeva—Vasudeva; śabditam—known as; yat—because; īyate—is revealed; tatra—there; pumān—the Supreme Person; apāvṛtaḥ—without any covering; sattve—in consciousness; ca—and; tasmin—in that; bhagavān—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; vāsudevaḥ—Vāsudeva; hi—because; adhokṣajaḥ—transcendental; me—by me; namasā—with obeisances; vidhīyate—worshiped. TRANSLATION I am always engaged in offering obeisances to Lord Vāsudeva in pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is always pure consciousness, in which the Supreme Personality of Godhead, known as Vāsudeva, is revealed without any covering. PURPORT The living entity is constitutionally pure. Asaṅgo hy ayaṁ puruṣaḥ. In the Vedic literature it is said that the soul is always pure and uncontaminated by material attachment. The identification of the body with the soul is due to misunderstanding. As soon as one is fully Kṛṣṇa conscious it is to be understood that one is in his pure, original constitutional position. This state of existence is called śuddha-sattva, which means that it is transcendental to the material qualities. Since this śuddha-sattva existence is under the direct action of the internal potency, in this state the activities of material consciousness stop. For example, when iron is put into a fire, it becomes warm, and when red-hot, although it is iron, it acts like fire. Similarly, when copper is surcharged with electricity, its action as copper stops; it acts as electricity. Bhagavad-gītā (14.26) also confirms that anyone who engages in unadulterated devotional service to the Lord is at once elevated to the position of pure Brahman: Therefore śuddha-sattva, as described in this verse, is the transcendental position, which is technically called vasudeva. Vasudeva is also the name of the person from whom Kṛṣṇa appears. This verse explains that the pure state is called vasudeva because in that state Vāsudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is revealed without any covering. To execute unadulterated devotional service, therefore, one must follow the rules and regulations of devotional service without desire to gain material profit by fruitive activities or mental speculation. In pure devotional service one simply serves the Supreme Personality of Godhead as a matter of duty, without reason and without being impeded by material conditions. That is called śuddha-sattva, or vasudeva, because in that stage the Supreme Person, Kṛṣṇa, is revealed in the heart of the devotee. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has very nicely described this vasudeva, or śuddha-sattva, in his Bhagavat-sandarbha. He explains that aṣṭottara-śata (108) is added to the name of the spiritual master to indicate one who is situated in śuddha-sattva, or in the transcendental state of vasudeva. The word vasudeva is also used for other purposes. For example, vasudeva also means one who is everywhere, or all-pervading. The sun is also called vasudeva-śabditam. The word vasudeva may be utilized for different purposes, but whatever purpose we adopt, Vāsudeva means the all-pervading or localized Supreme Personality of Godhead. In Bhagavad-gītā (7.19) it is also stated, vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti. Factual realization is to understand Vāsudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and surrender unto Him. Vasudeva is the ground wherein Vāsudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is revealed. When one is free from the contamination of material nature and is situated in pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or in the vasudeva state, Vāsudeva, the Supreme Person, is revealed. This state is also called kaivalya, which means “pure consciousness.” Jñānaṁ sāttvikaṁ kaivalyam. When one is situated in pure, transcendental knowledge, one is situated in kaivalya. Therefore vasudeva also means kaivalya, a word which is generally used by impersonalists. Impersonal kaivalya is not the last stage of realization, but in Kṛṣṇa consciousness kaivalya, when one understands the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then one is successful. In that pure state, by hearing, chanting, remembering, etc., because of the development of knowledge of the science of Kṛṣṇa, one can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. All these activities are under the guidance of the internal energy of the Supreme Lord. The action of the internal potency is also described in this verse as apāvṛtaḥ, free from any covering. Because the Supreme Personality of Godhead, His name, His form, His quality, His paraphernalia, etc., being transcendental, are beyond material nature, it is not possible to understand any one of them with the materialistic senses. When the senses are purified by the discharge of pure devotional service (hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate [Cc. Madhya 19.170]), the pure senses can see Kṛṣṇa without covering. Now one may inquire that since factually the devotee has the same material existential body, how is it possible that the same materialistic eyes become purified by devotional service? The example, as stated by Lord Caitanya, is that devotional service cleanses the mirror of the mind. In a clean mirror one can see one’s face very distinctly. Similarly, simply by cleansing the mirror of the mind one can have a clear conception of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is stated in Bhagavad-gītā (8.8), abhyāsa-yoga-yuktena. By executing one’s prescribed duties in devotional service, cetasā nānya-gāminā, or simply by hearing about God and chanting about Him, if one’s mind is always engaged in chanting and hearing and is not allowed to go elsewhere, one can realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As confirmed by Lord Caitanya, by the bhakti-yoga process, beginning from hearing and chanting, one can cleanse the heart and mind, and thus one can clearly see the face of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Lord Śiva said that since his heart was always filled with the conception of Vāsudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, because of the Supreme Lord’s presence within his mind and heart, he was always offering obeisances unto that Supreme Godhead. In other words, Lord Śiva is always in trance, samādhi. This samādhi is not under the control of the devotee; it is under the control of Vāsudeva, for the entire internal energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead acts under His order. Of course, the material energy also acts by His order, but His direct will is specifically executed through the spiritual energy. Thus by His spiritual energy He reveals Himself. It is stated in Bhagavad-gītā (4.6), sambhavāmy ātma-māyayā. Ātma-māyayā means “internal potency.” By His sweet will He reveals Himself by His internal potency, being satisfied by the transcendental loving service of the devotee. The devotee never commands, “My dear Lord, please come here so that I can see You.” It is not the position of the devotee to command the Supreme Personality of Godhead to come before him or to dance before him. There are many so-called devotees who command the Lord to come before them dancing. The Lord, however, is not subject to anyone’s command, but if He is satisfied by one’s pure devotional activities, He reveals Himself. Therefore a meaningful word in this verse is adhokṣaja, for it indicates that the activities of our material senses will fail to realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One cannot realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead simply by the attempt of one’s speculative mind, but if one desires he can subdue all the material activities of his senses, and the Lord, by manifesting His spiritual energy, can reveal Himself to the pure devotee. When the Supreme Personality of Godhead reveals Himself to the pure devotee, the devotee has no other duty than to offer Him respectful obeisances. The Absolute Truth reveals Himself to the devotee in His form. He is not formless. Vāsudeva is not formless, for it is stated in this verse that as soon as the Lord reveals Himself, the devotee offers his obeisances. Obeisances are offered to a person, not to anything impersonal. One should not accept the Māyāvāda interpretation that Vāsudeva is impersonal. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā, prapadyate, one surrenders. One surrenders to a person, not to impersonal nonduality. Whenever there is a question of surrendering or offering obeisances, there must be an object of surrender or obeisances. |
JaGahR SaaMazRivPaàYaa iGara iXaviÜz& DaUMaPaQaé[MaSMaYaMa( ) SvTaeJaSaa >aUTaGa<aaNa( SaMauiTQaTaaNa( iNaGa*ù devq JaGaTaae_i>aé*<vTa" )) 10 )) jagarha sāmarṣa-vipannayā girā śiva-dviṣaṁ dhūma-patha-śrama-smayam sva-tejasā bhūta-gaṇān samutthitān nigṛhya devī jagato ’bhiśṛṇvataḥ SYNONYMS jagarha—began to condemn; sā—she; amarṣa-vipannayā—indistinct through anger; girā—with words; śiva-dviṣam—the enemy of Lord Śiva; dhūma-patha—in sacrifices; śrama—by troubles; smayam—very proud; sva-tejasā—by her order; bhūta-gaṇān—the ghosts; samutthitān—ready (to injure Dakṣa); nigṛhya—stopped; devī—Satī; jagataḥ—in the presence of all; abhiśṛṇvataḥ—being heard. TRANSLATION The followers of Lord Śiva, the ghosts, were ready to injure or kill Dakṣa, but Satī stopped them by her order. She was very angry and sorrowful, and in that mood she began to condemn the process of sacrificial fruitive activities and persons who are very proud of such unnecessary and troublesome sacrifices. She especially condemned her father, speaking against him in the presence of all. PURPORT The process of offering sacrifices is especially meant to satisfy Viṣṇu, who is called Yajñeśa because He is the enjoyer of the fruits of all sacrifice. Bhagavad-gītā (5.29) also confirms this fact. The Lord says, bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasām. He is the actual beneficiary of all sacrifices. Not knowing this fact, less intelligent men offer sacrifices for some material benefit. To derive personal material benefits for sense gratification is the reason persons like Dakṣa and his followers perform sacrifices. Such sacrifices are condemned here as a labor of love without actual profit. This is confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. One may prosecute the Vedic injunctions of offering sacrifices and other fruitive activities, but if by such activities one does not develop attraction for Viṣṇu, they are useless labors. One who has developed love for Viṣṇu must develop love and respect for Viṣṇu’s devotees. Lord Śiva is considered the foremost personality amongst the Vaiṣṇavas. Vaiṣṇavānāṁ yathā śambhuḥ. Thus when Satī saw that her father was performing great sacrifices but had no respect for the greatest devotee, Lord Śiva, she was very angry. This is fitting; when Viṣṇu or a Vaiṣṇava is insulted, one should be angry. Lord Caitanya, who always preached nonviolence, meekness and humility, also became angry when Nityānanda was offended by Jagāi and Mādhāi, and He wanted to kill them. When Viṣṇu or a Vaiṣṇava is blasphemed or dishonored, one should be very angry. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura said, krodha bhakta-dveṣi jane. We have anger, and that anger can be a great quality when directed against a person who is envious of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His devotee. One should not be tolerant when a person is offensive towards Viṣṇu or a Vaiṣṇava. The anger of Satī towards her father was not objectionable, for although he was her father, he was trying to insult the greatest Vaiṣṇava. Thus Satī’s anger against her father was quite applaudable. |
TEXT 11 deVYauvac Na YaSYa l/aeke-_STYaiTaXaaYaNa" iPa[Ya‚ STaQaaiPa[Yaae deh>a*Taa& iPa[YaaTMaNa" ) TaiSMaNa( SaMaSTaaTMaiNa Mau¢-vErke- ‰Tae >avNTa& k-TaMa" Pa[TaqPaYaeTa( )) 11 )) devy uvāca na yasya loke ’sty atiśāyanaḥ priyas tathāpriyo deha-bhṛtāṁ priyātmanaḥ tasmin samastātmani mukta-vairake ṛte bhavantaṁ katamaḥ pratīpayet SYNONYMS devī uvāca—the blessed goddess said; na—not; yasya—of whom; loke—in the material world; asti—is; atiśāyanaḥ—having no rival; priyaḥ—dear; tathā—so; apriyaḥ—enemy; deha-bhṛtām—bearing material bodies; priya-ātmanaḥ—who is the most beloved; tasmin—towards Lord Śiva; samasta-ātmani—the universal being; mukta-vairake—who is free from all enmity; ṛte—except; bhavantam—for you; katamaḥ—who; pratīpayet—would be envious. TRANSLATION The blessed goddess said: Lord Śiva is the most beloved of all living entities. He has no rival. No one is very dear to him, and no one is his enemy. No one but you could be envious of such a universal being, who is free from all enmity. PURPORT In Bhagavad-gītā (9.29) the Lord says, samo’haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu: “I am equal to all living entities.” Similarly, Lord Śiva is a qualitative incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, so he has almost the same qualities as the Supreme Lord. Therefore he is equal to everyone; no one is his enemy, and no one is his friend, but one who is envious by nature can become the enemy of Lord Śiva. Therefore Satī accused her father, “No one but you could be envious of Lord Śiva or be his enemy.” Other sages and learned brāhmaṇas were present, but they were not envious of Lord Śiva, although they were all dependent on Dakṣa. Therefore no one but Dakṣa could be envious of Lord Śiva. That was the accusation of Satī. |
ik&- va iXava:YaMaiXav& Na ivduSTvdNYae b]øadYaSTaMavk-IYaR Ja$=a" XMaXaaNae ) TaNMaaLYa>aSMaNa*k-PaaLYavSaiTPaXaacE‚ YaeR MaUDaRi>adRDaiTa TaÀr<aavSa*íMa( )) 16 )) kiṁ vā śivākhyam aśivaṁ na vidus tvad anye brahmādayas tam avakīrya jaṭāḥ śmaśāne tan-mālya-bhasma-nṛkapāly avasat piśācair ye mūrdhabhir dadhati tac-caraṇāvasṛṣṭam SYNONYMS kim vā—whether; śiva-ākhyam—named Śiva; aśivam—inauspicious; na viduḥ—do not know; tvat anye—other than you; brahma-ādayaḥ—Brahmā and others; tam—him (Lord Śiva); avakīrya—scattered; jaṭāḥ—having twisted hair; śmaśāne—in the crematorium; tat-mālya-bhasma-nṛ-kapālī—who is garlanded with human skulls and smeared with ashes; avasat—associated; piśācaiḥ—with demons; ye—who; mūrdhabhiḥ—with the head; dadhati—place; tat-caraṇa-avasṛṣṭam—fallen from his lotus feet. TRANSLATION Do you think that greater, more respectable personalities than you, such as Lord Brahmā, do not know this inauspicious person who goes under the name Lord Śiva? He associates with the demons in the crematorium, his locks of hair are scattered all over his body, he is garlanded with human skulls and smeared with ashes from the crematorium, but in spite of all these inauspicious qualities, great personalities like Brahmā honor him by accepting the flowers offered to his lotus feet and placing them with great respect on their heads. PURPORT It is useless to condemn a great personality like Lord Śiva, and this is being stated by his wife, Satī, to establish the supremacy of her husband. First she said, “You call Lord Śiva inauspicious because he associates with demons in crematoriums, covers his body with the ashes of the dead, and garlands himself with the skulls of human beings. You have shown so many defects, but you do not know that his position is always transcendental. Although he appears inauspicious, why do personalities like Brahmā respect the dust of his lotus feet and place on their heads with great respect those very garlands which are condemned by you?” Since Satī was a chaste woman and the wife of Lord Śiva, it was her duty to establish the elevated position of Lord Śiva, not only by sentiment but by facts. Lord Śiva is not an ordinary living entity. This is the conclusion of Vedic scripture. He is neither on the level of the Supreme Personality of Godhead nor on the level of the ordinary living entities. Brahmā is in almost all cases an ordinary living entity. Sometimes, when there is no ordinary living entity available, the post of Brahmā is occupied by an expansion of Lord Viṣṇu, but generally this post is occupied by a greatly pious living entity within this universe. Thus Lord Śiva’s position is constitutionally higher than that of Lord Brahmā, although Lord Śiva appeared as the son of Brahmā. Here it is mentioned that even personalities like Brahmā accept the so-called inauspicious flowers and the dust of the lotus feet of Lord Śiva. Great sages like Marīci, Atri, Bhṛgu and the others among the nine great sages who are descendants of Brahmā also respect Lord Śiva in such a way because they all know that Lord Śiva is not an ordinary living entity. In many Purāṇas it is sometimes asserted that a demigod is elevated to such a high position that he is almost on an equal level with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but the conclusion that Lord Viṣṇu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead is confirmed in every scripture. Lord Śiva is described in the Brahma-saṁhitā to be like curd or yogurt. Curd is not different from milk. Since milk is transformed into curd, in one sense curd is also milk. Similarly, Lord Śiva is in one sense the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but in another sense he is not, just as curd is milk although we have to distinguish between the two. These descriptions are in the Vedic literature. Whenever we find that a demigod occupies a position apparently more elevated than that of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it is just to draw the devotee’s attention to that particular demigod. It is also stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.25) that if one wants to worship a particular demigod, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is sitting in everyone’s heart, gives one greater and greater attachment for that demigod so that one may be elevated to the demigod’s abode. Yānti deva-vratā devān. By worshiping demigods one can elevate himself to the abodes of the demigods; similarly, by worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead one can be elevated to the spiritual kingdom. This is stated in different places in Vedic literature. Here Lord Śiva is praised by Satī, partially due to her personal respect for Lord Śiva, since he is her husband, and partially due to his exalted position, which exceeds that of ordinary living entities, even Lord Brahmā. The position of Lord Śiva is accepted by Lord Brahmā, so Dakṣa, Satī’s father, should also recognize him. That was the point of Satī’s statement. She did not actually come to her father’s house to participate in the function, although before coming she pleaded with her husband that she wanted to see her sisters and her mother. That was a plea only, for actually at heart she maintained the idea that she would convince her father, Dakṣa, that it was useless to continue being envious of Lord Śiva. That was her main purpose. When she was unable to convince her father, she gave up the body he had given her, as will be seen in the following verses. |
TEXT 17 k-<aaOE iPaDaaYa iNarYaaÛdk-LPa wRXae DaMaaRivTaYaRSa*i<ai>aNa*Ri>arSYaMaaNae ) i^NÛaTPa[Saù åXaTaqMaSaTaq& Pa[>auêe‚ iÂûaMaSaUNaiPa TaTaae ivSa*JaeTSa DaMaR" )) 17 )) karṇau pidhāya nirayād yad akalpa īśe dharmāvitary asṛṇibhir nṛbhir asyamāne chindyāt prasahya ruśatīm asatīṁ prabhuś cej jihvām asūn api tato visṛjet sa dharmaḥ SYNONYMS karṇau—both ears; pidhāya—blocking; nirayāt—one should go away; yat—if; akalpaḥ—unable; īśe—the master; dharma-avitari—the controller of religion; asṛṇibhiḥ—by irresponsible; nṛbhiḥ—persons; asyamāne—being blasphemed; chindyāt—he should cut; prasahya—by force; ruśatīm—vilifying; asatīm—of the blasphemer; prabhuḥ—one is able; cet—if; jihvām—tongue; asūn—(his own) life; api—certainly; tataḥ—then; visṛjet—should give up; saḥ—that; dharmaḥ—is the process. TRANSLATION Satī continued: If one hears an irresponsible person blaspheme the master and controller of religion, one should block his ears and go away if unable to punish him. But if one is able to kill, then one should by force cut out the blasphemer’s tongue and kill the offender, and after that one should give up his own life. PURPORT The argument offered by Satī is that a person who vilifies a great personality is the lowest of all creatures. But, by the same argument, Dakṣa could also defend himself by saying that since he was a Prajāpati, the master of many living creatures and one of the great officers of the great universal affairs, his position was so exalted that Satī should accept his good qualities instead of vilifying him. The answer to that argument is that Satī was not vilifying but defending. If possible she should have cut out Dakṣa’s tongue because he blasphemed Lord Śiva. In other words, since Lord Śiva is the protector of religion, a person who vilifies him should be killed at once, and after killing such a person, one should give up one’s life. That is the process, but because Dakṣa happened to be the father of Satī, she decided not to kill him but to give up her own life in order to compensate for the great sin she had committed by hearing blasphemy of Lord Śiva. The instruction set forth here in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is that one should not tolerate at any cost the activities of a person who vilifies or blasphemes an authority. If one is a brāhmaṇa he should not give up his body because by doing so he would be responsible for killing a brāhmaṇa; therefore a brāhmaṇa should leave the place or block his ears so that he will not hear the blasphemy. If one happens to be a kṣatriya he has the power to punish any man; therefore a kṣatriya should at once cut out the tongue of the vilifier and kill him. But as far as the vaiśyas and śūdras are concerned, they should immediately give up their bodies. Satī decided to give up her body because she thought herself to be among the śūdras and vaiśyas. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (9.32), striyo vaiśyās tathā śūdrāḥ. Women, laborers and the mercantile class are on the same level. Thus since it is recommended that vaiśyas and śūdras should immediately give up their bodies upon hearing blasphemy of an exalted person like Lord Śiva, she decided to give up her life. |
TEXT 20 k-MaR Pa[v*ta& c iNav*taMaPYa*Ta& vede ivivCYaae>aYail/(r)Maaié[TaMa( ) ivraeiDa TaÛaEGaPadEk-k-TaRir ÜYa& TaQaa b]øi<a k-MaR NaC^RiTa )) 20 )) karma pravṛttaṁ ca nivṛttam apy ṛtaṁ vede vivicyobhaya-liṅgam āśritam virodhi tad yaugapadaika-kartari dvayaṁ tathā brahmaṇi karma narcchati SYNONYMS karma—activities; pravṛttam—attached to material enjoyment; ca—and; nivṛttam—materially detached; api—certainly; ṛtam—true; vede—in the Vedas; vivicya—distinguished; ubhaya-liṅgam—symptoms of both; āśritam—directed; virodhi—contradictory; tat—that; yaugapada-eka-kartari—both activities in one person; dvayam—two; tathā—so; brahmaṇi—in one who is transcendentally situated; karma—activities; na ṛcchati—are neglected. TRANSLATION In the Vedas there are directions for two kinds of activities—activities for those who are attached to material enjoyment and activities for those who are materially detached. In consideration of these two kinds of activities, there are two kinds of people, who have different symptoms. If one wants to see two kinds of activities in one person, that is contradictory. But both kinds of activities may be neglected by a person who is transcendentally situated. PURPORT The Vedic activities are so designed that the conditioned soul who has come to enjoy the material world may do so under direction so that at the end he becomes detached from such material enjoyment and is eligible to enter into the transcendental position. The four different social orders—brahmacarya, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsa—gradually train a person to come to the platform of transcendental life. The activities and dress of a gṛhastha, or householder, are different from those of a sannyāsī, one in the renounced order of life. lt is impossible for one person to adopt both orders. A sannyāsī cannot act like a householder, nor can a householder act like a sannyāsī, but above these two kinds of persons, one who engages in material activities and one who has renounced material activities, there is the person who is transcendental to both. Lord Śiva is in the transcendental position because, as stated before, he is always absorbed in the thought of Lord Vāsudeva within himself. Therefore neither the activities of the gṛhastha nor those of the sannyāsī in the renounced order can be applicable for him. He is in the paramahaṁsa stage, the highest perfectional stage of life. The transcendental position of Lord Śiva is also explained in Bhagavad-gītā (2.52–53). It is stated there that when one fully engages in the transcendental service of the Lord by performing activities without fruitive results, one is elevated to the transcendental position. At that time he has no obligation to follow the Vedic injunctions or the different rules and regulations of the Vedas. When one is above the directions of the Vedic ritualistic injunctions for attaining different allurements and is fully absorbed in transcendental thought, which means thought of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in devotional service, one is in the position called buddhi-yoga, or samādhi, ecstasy. For a person who has attained this stage, neither the Vedic activities for realizing material enjoyment nor those for renunciation are applicable. |
TaTa" Sv>aTauRêr<aaMbuJaaSav& JaGad(GauraeiêNTaYaTaq Na caParMa( ) ddXaR dehae hTak-LMaz" SaTaq SaÛ" Pa[JaJval/ SaMaaiDaJaaiGanNaa )) 27 )) tataḥ sva-bhartuś caraṇāmbujāsavaṁ jagad-guroś cintayatī na cāparam dadarśa deho hata-kalmaṣaḥ satī sadyaḥ prajajvāla samādhijāgninā SYNONYMS tataḥ—there; sva-bhartuḥ—of her husband; caraṇa-ambuja-āsavam—on the nectar of the lotus feet; jagat-guroḥ—of the supreme spiritual teacher of the universe; cintayatī—meditating; na—not; ca—and; aparam—not other (than her husband); dadarśa—saw; dehaḥ—her body; hata-kalmaṣaḥ—taints of sin being destroyed; satī—Satī; sadyaḥ—soon; prajajvāla—burned; samādhi-ja-agninā—by fire produced by meditation. TRANSLATION Satī concentrated all her meditation on the holy lotus feet of her husband, Lord Śiva, who is the supreme spiritual master of all the world. Thus she became completely cleansed of all taints of sin and quit her body in a blazing fire by meditation on the fiery elements. PURPORT Satī at once thought of the lotus feet of her husband, Lord Śiva, who is one of the three great personalities of Godhead in charge of the management of the material world, and simply by meditating on his lotus feet she derived such great pleasure that she forgot everything in relationship with her body. This pleasure was certainly material because she gave up her body for another body that was also material, but by this example we can appreciate the devotee’s pleasure in concentrating his mind and attention on the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu, or Kṛṣṇa. There is such transcendental bliss in simply meditating on the lotus feet of the Lord that one can forget everything but the Lord’s transcendental form. This is the perfection of yogic samādhi, or ecstasy. In this verse it is stated that by such meditation she became free from all contamination. What was that contamination? The contamination was her concept of the body derived from Dakṣa, but she forgot that bodily relationship in trance. The purport is that when one becomes free from all bodily relationships within this material world and simply places himself in the position of an eternal servant of the Supreme Lord, it is to be understood that all the contamination of his material attachment has been burned by the blazing fires of transcendental ecstasy. It is not necessary for one to manifest a blazing fire externally, for if one forgets all his bodily relationships within this material world and becomes situated in his spiritual identity, it is said that one has been freed from all material contamination by the blazing fire of yogic samādhi, or ecstasy. That is the topmost perfection of yoga. If one keeps his bodily relationships within this material world and poses himself as a great yogī, he is not a bona fide yogī. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.4.15) it is stated, yat-kīrtanaṁ yat-smaraṇaṁ. Simply by chanting the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, simply by remembering the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, simply by offering prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one is immediately freed from material contamination, the material bodily concept, by the blazing fire of ecstasy. This effect takes place immediately, without a second’s delay. According to Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī, that Satī quit her body means that she gave up within her heart her relationship with Dakṣa. Śrī Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura also comments that since Satī is the superintendent deity of the external potency, when she quit her body she did not get a spiritual body but simply transferred from the body she had received from Dakṣa. Other commentators also say that she immediately transferred herself into the womb of Menakā, her future mother. She gave up the body she had received from Dakṣa and immediately transferred herself to another, better body, but this does not mean that she got a spiritual body. |
TEXT 28 TaTPaXYaTaa& %e >auiv cad(>auTa& Mahd( haheiTa vad" SauMahaNaJaaYaTa ) hNTa iPa[Yaa dEvTaMaSYa devq JahavSaUNa( ke-Na SaTaq Pa[k-aeiPaTaa )) 28 )) tat paśyatāṁ khe bhuvi cādbhutaṁ mahad hā heti vādaḥ sumahān ajāyata hanta priyā daivatamasya devī jahāv asūn kena satī prakopitā SYNONYMS tat—that; paśyatām—of those who had seen; khe—in the sky; bhuvi—on the earth; ca—and; adbhutam—wonderful; mahat—great; hā hā—oh, oh; iti—thus; vādaḥ—roar; su-mahān—tumultuous; ajāyata—occurred; hanta—alas; priyā—the beloved; daiva-tamasya—of the most respectable demigod (Lord Śiva); devī—Satī; jahau—quit; asūn—her life; kena—by Dakṣa; satī—Satī; prakopitā—angered. TRANSLATION When Satī annihilated her body in anger, there was a tumultuous roar all over the universe. Why had Satī, the wife of the most respectable demigod, Lord Śiva, quit her body in such a manner? PURPORT There was a tumultuous roaring all over the universe in the societies of the demigods of different planets because Satī was the daughter of Dakṣa, the greatest of all kings, and the wife of Lord Śiva, the greatest of all demigods. Why did she become so angry that she gave up her body? Since she was the daughter of a great personality and wife of a great personality, she had nothing to desire, but still she gave up her body in dissatisfaction. Certainly this was astonishing. One cannot attain complete satisfaction even if one is situated in the greatest material opulence. There was nothing Satī could not achieve either from her relationship with her father or from her relationship with the greatest of the demigods, but still, for some reason, she was dissatisfied. Therefore, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.6) explains that one has to achieve real satisfaction (yayātmā suprasīdati), but ātmā—the body, mind and soul—all become completely satisfied only if one develops devotional service to the Absolute Truth. Sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje. Adhokṣaja means the Absolute Truth. If one can develop his unflinching love for the transcendental Supreme Personality of Godhead, that can give complete satisfaction, otherwise there is no possibility of satisfaction in the material world or anywhere else. |
TEXT 12 bûevMauiÜGand*XaaeCYaMaaNae JaNaeNa d+aSYa MauhuMaRhaTMaNa" ) oTPaeTauåTPaaTaTaMaa" SahóXaae >aYaavha idiv >aUMaaE c PaYaRk(- )) 12 )) bahv evam udvigna-dṛśocyamāne janena dakṣasya muhur mahātmanaḥ utpetur utpātatamāḥ sahasraśo bhayāvahā divi bhūmau ca paryak SYNONYMS bahu—much; evam—in this manner; udvigna-dṛśā—with nervous glances; ucyamāne—while this was being said; janena—by the persons (assembled at the sacrifice); dakṣasya—of Dakṣa; muhuḥ—again and again; mahā-ātmanaḥ—stronghearted; utpetuḥ—appeared; utpāta-tamāḥ—very powerful symptoms; sahasraśaḥ—by the thousands; bhaya-āvahāḥ—producing fear; divi—in the sky; bhūmau—on the earth; ca—and; paryak—from all sides. TRANSLATION While all the people talked amongst themselves, Dakṣa saw dangerous omens from all sides, from the earth and from the sky. PURPORT In this verse Dakṣa has been described as mahātmā. The word mahātmā has been commented upon by different commentators in various manners. Vīrarāghava Ācārya has indicated that this word mahātmā means “steady in heart.” That is to say that Dakṣa was so stronghearted that even when his beloved daughter was prepared to lay down her life, he was steady and unshaken. But in spite of his being so stronghearted, he was perturbed when he saw the various disturbances created by the gigantic black demon. Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura remarks in this connection that even if one is called mahātmā, a great soul, unless he exhibits the symptoms of a mahātmā, he should be considered a durātmā, or a degraded soul. In Bhagavad-gītā (9.13) the word mahātmā describes the pure devotee of the Lord: mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ. A mahātmā is always under the guidance of the internal energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and thus how could such a misbehaved person as Dakṣa be a mahātmā? A mahātmā is supposed to have all the good qualities of the demigods, and thus Dakṣa, lacking those qualities, could not be called a mahātmā; he should instead be called durātmā, a degraded soul. The word mahātmā to describe the qualifications of Dakṣa is used sarcastically. |
TEXT 3 oPal/>Ya PaurEvETaÙGavaNaBJaSaM>av" ) NaaraYa<aê ivìaTMaa Na k-SYaaßrMaqYaTau" )) 3 )) upalabhya puraivaitad bhagavān abja-sambhavaḥ nārāyaṇaś ca viśvātmā na kasyādhvaram īyatuḥ SYNONYMS upalabhya—knowing; purā—beforehand; eva—certainly; etat—all these events of Dakṣa’s sacrifice; bhagavān—the possessor of all opulences; abja-sambhavaḥ—born from a lotus flower (Lord Brahmā); nārāyaṇaḥ—Nārāyaṇa; ca—and; viśva-ātmā—the Supersoul of the entire universe; na—not; kasya—of Dakṣa; adhvaram—to the sacrifice; īyatuḥ—did go. TRANSLATION Both Lord Brahmā and Viṣṇu had already known that such events would occur in the sacrificial arena of Dakṣa, and knowing beforehand, they did not go to the sacrifice. PURPORT As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (7.26), vedāhaṁ samatītāni vartamānāni cārjuna. The Lord says, “I know everything that has happened in the past and is going to happen in the future.” Lord Viṣṇu is omniscient, and He therefore knew what would happen at Dakṣa’s sacrificial arena. For this reason neither Nārāyaṇa nor Lord Brahmā attended the great sacrifice performed by Dakṣa. |
YaYaae" SauriñYa" +atarvåù SviDaZ<YaTa" ) §-I@iNTa Pau&Sa" iSaÄNTYaae ivGaaù riTak-iXaRTaa" )) 25 )) yayoḥ sura-striyaḥ kṣattar avaruhya sva-dhiṣṇyataḥ krīḍanti puṁsaḥ siñcantyo vigāhya rati-karśitāḥ SYNONYMS yayoḥ—in both of which (rivers); sura-striyaḥ—the celestial damsels along with their husbands; kṣattaḥ—O Vidura; avaruhya—descending; sva-dhiṣṇyataḥ—from their own airplanes; krīḍanti—they play; puṁsaḥ—their husbands; siñcantyaḥ—sprinkling with water; vigāhya—after entering (the water); rati-karśitāḥ—whose enjoyment has become diminished. TRANSLATION My dear Kṣattā, Vidura, the celestial damsels come down to those rivers in their airplanes with their husbands, and after sexual enjoyment, they enter the water and enjoy sprinkling their husbands with water. PURPORT It is understood that even the damsels of the heavenly planets are polluted by thoughts of sex enjoyment, and therefore they come in airplanes to bathe in the rivers Nandā and Alakanandā. It is significant that these rivers, Nandā and Alakanandā, are sanctified by the dust of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In other words, just as the Ganges is sacred because its water emanates from the toes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa, so whenever water or anything is in touch with devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it is purified and spiritualized. The rules and regulations of devotional service are based on this principle: anything in touch with the lotus feet of the Lord is immediately freed from all material contamination. The damsels of the heavenly planets, polluted by thoughts of sex life, come down to bathe in the sanctified rivers and enjoy sprinkling water on their husbands. Two words are very significant in this connection. Rati-karśitāḥ means that the damsels become morose after sex enjoyment. Although they accept sex enjoyment as a bodily demand, afterwards they are not happy. Another significant point is that Lord Govinda, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is described here as Tīrthapāda. Tīrtha means “sanctified place,” and pāda means “the lotus feet of the Lord.” People go to a sanctified place to free themselves from all sinful reactions. In other words, those who are devoted to the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, automatically become sanctified. The Lord’s lotus feet are called tīrtha-pāda because under their protection there are hundreds and thousands of saintly persons who sanctify the sacred places of pilgrimage. Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, a great ācārya of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava-sampradāya, advises us not to travel to different places of pilgrimage. Undoubtedly it is troublesome to go from one place to another, but one who is intelligent can take shelter of the lotus feet of Govinda and thereby be automatically sanctified as the result of his pilgrimage. Anyone who is fixed in the service of the lotus feet of Govinda is called tīrtha-pāda; he does not need to travel on various pilgrimages, for he can enjoy all the benefits of such travel simply by engaging in the service of the lotus feet of the Lord. Such a pure devotee, who has implicit faith in the lotus feet of the Lord, can create sacred places in any part of the world where he decides to remain. Tīrthī-kurvanti tīrthāni (Bhāg. 1.13.10). The places are sanctified due to the presence of pure devotees; any place automatically becomes a place of pilgrimage if either the Lord or His pure devotee remains or resides there. In other words, such a pure devotee, who is engaged one hundred percent in the service of the Lord, can remain anywhere in the universe, and that part of the universe immediately becomes a sacred place where he can peacefully render service to the Lord as the Lord desires. |
TEXT 30 vNaku-ÅrSax(ga*íhircNdNavaYauNaa ) AiDa Pau<YaJaNañq<aa& MauhuåNMaQaYaNMaNa" )) 30 )) vana-kuñjara-saṅghṛṣṭa- haricandana-vāyunā adhi puṇyajana-strīṇāṁ muhur unmathayan manaḥ SYNONYMS vana-kuñjara—by wild elephants; saṅghṛṣṭa—rubbed against; haricandana—the sandalwood trees; vāyunā—by the breeze; adhi—further; puṇyajana-strīṇām—of the wives of the Yakṣas; muhuḥ—again and again; unmathayat—agitating; manaḥ—the minds. TRANSLATION All these atmospheric influences unsettled the forest elephants who flocked together in the sandalwood forest, and the blowing wind agitated the minds of the damsels there for further sexual enjoyment. PURPORT Whenever there is a nice atmosphere in the material world, immediately there is an awakening of the sexual appetite in the minds of materialistic persons. This tendency is present everywhere within this material world, not only on this earth but in higher planetary systems as well. In complete contrast with the influence of this atmosphere on the minds of the living entities within the material world is the description of the spiritual world. The women there are hundreds and thousands of times more beautiful than the women here in this material world, and the spiritual atmosphere is also many times better. Yet despite the pleasant atmosphere, the minds of the denizens do not become agitated because in the spiritual world, the Vaikuṇṭha planets, the spiritualistic minds of the inhabitants are so much absorbed in the spiritual vibration of chanting the glories of the Lord that such enjoyment could not be surpassed by any other enjoyment, even sex, which is the culmination of all pleasure in the material world. In other words, in the Vaikuṇṭha world, in spite of its better atmosphere and facilities, there is no impetus for sex life. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (2.59), paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate: the inhabitants are so spiritually enlightened that in the presence of such spirituality, sex life is insignificant. |
>ava&STau Pau&Sa" ParMaSYa MaaYaYaa durNTaYaaSPa*íMaiTa" SaMaSTad*k(- ) TaYaa hTaaTMaSvNauk-MaRceTa"‚ SvNauGa]h& k-TauRiMahahRiSa Pa[>aae )) 49 )) bhavāṁs tu puṁsaḥ paramasya māyayā durantayāspṛṣṭa-matiḥ samasta-dṛk tayā hatātmasv anukarma-cetaḥsv anugrahaṁ kartum ihārhasi prabho SYNONYMS bhavān—Your Lordship; tu—but; puṁsaḥ—of the person; paramasya—the supreme; māyayā—by the material energy; durantayā—of great potency; aspṛṣṭa—unaffected; matiḥ—intelligence; samasta-dṛk—seer or knower of everything; tayā—by the same illusory energy; hata-ātmasu—bewildered at heart; anukarma-cetaḥsu—whose hearts are attracted by fruitive activities; anugraham—mercy; kartum—to do; iha—in this case; arhasi—desire; prabho—O lord. TRANSLATION My dear lord, you are never bewildered by the formidable influence of the illusory energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore you are omniscient and should be merciful and compassionate toward those who are bewildered by the same illusory energy and are very much attached to fruitive activities. PURPORT A Vaiṣṇava is never bewildered by the influence of the external energy because he is engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. The Lord states in Bhagavad-gītā (7.14): daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te “My divine energy consisting of the three modes of material nature is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.” A Vaiṣṇava should take care of those who are bewildered by this māyā instead of becoming angry with them, because without a Vaiṣṇava’s mercy they have no way to get out of the clutches of māyā. Those who have been condemned by māyā are rescued by the mercy of devotees. vāñchā-kalpatarubhyaś ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ “I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaiṣṇava devotees of the Lord. They are just like desire trees who can fulfill the desires of everyone, and they are full of compassion for the fallen conditioned souls.” Those who are under the influence of the illusory energy are attracted to fruitive activities, but a Vaiṣṇava preacher attracts their hearts to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. |
Wz Tae åd] >aaGaae_STau YaduiC^íae_ßrSYa vE ) YajSTae åd]>aaGaeNa k-LPaTaaMaÛ YajhNa( )) 53 )) eṣa te rudra bhāgo ’stu yad-ucchiṣṭo ’dhvarasya vai yajñas te rudra bhāgena kalpatām adya yajña-han SYNONYMS eṣaḥ—this; te—your; rudra—O Lord Śiva; bhāgaḥ—portion; astu—let it be; yat—whatever; ucchiṣṭaḥ—is the remainder; adhvarasya—of the sacrifice; vai—indeed; yajñaḥ—the sacrifice; te—your; rudra—O Rudra; bhāgena—by the portion; kalpatām—may be completed; adya—today; yajña-han—O destroyer of the sacrifice. TRANSLATION O destroyer of the sacrifice, please take your portion of the sacrifice and let the sacrifice be completed by your grace. PURPORT A sacrifice is a ceremony performed to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, First Canto, Second Chapter, it is stated that everyone should try to understand whether the Supreme Personality of Godhead is satisfied by his activity. In other words, the aim of our activities should be to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Just as in an office it is the duty of the worker to see that the proprietor or the master is satisfied, so everyone’s duty is to see whether the Supreme Personality of Godhead is satisfied by one’s activity. Activities to satisfy the Supreme Godhead are prescribed in the Vedic literature, and execution of such activities is called yajña. In other words, acting on behalf of the Supreme Lord is called yajña. One should know very well that any activity besides yajña is the cause of material bondage. That is explained in Bhagavad-gītā (3.9): yajñārthāt karmaṇo ’nyatra loko ’yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ. Karma-bandhanaḥ means that if we do not work for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu, then the reaction of our work will bind us. One should not work for his own sense gratification. Everyone should work for the satisfaction of God. That is called yajña. After the yajña was performed by Dakṣa, all the demigods expected prasāda, the remnants of foodstuffs offered to Viṣṇu. Lord Śiva is one of the demigods, so naturally he also expected his share of the prasāda from the yajña. But Dakṣa, out of his envy of Lord Śiva, neither invited Śiva to participate in the yajña nor gave him his share after the offering. But after the destruction of the yajña arena by the followers of Lord Śiva, Lord Brahmā pacified him and assured him that he would get his share of prasāda. Thus he was requested to rectify whatever destruction was caused by his followers. In Bhagavad-gītā (3.11) it is said that all the demigods are satisfied when one performs yajña. Because the demigods expect prasāda from yajñas, yajña must be performed. Those who engage in sense gratificatory, materialistic activities must perform yajña, otherwise they will be implicated. Thus Dakṣa, being the father of mankind, was performing yajña, and Lord Śiva expected his share. But since Śiva was not invited, there was trouble. By the mediation of Lord Brahmā, however, everything was settled satisfactorily. The performance of yajña is a very difficult task because all the demigods must be invited to participate in the yajña. In this Kali-yuga it is not possible to perform such costly sacrifices, nor is it possible to invite the demigods to participate. Therefore in this age it is recommended, yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi sumedhasaḥ (Bhāg. 11.5.32). Those who are intelligent should know that in the Kali-yuga there is no possibility of performing the Vedic sacrifices. But unless one pleases the demigods, there will be no regulated seasonal activities or rainfall. Everything is controlled by the demigods. Under the circumstances, in this age, in order to keep the balance of social peace and prosperity, all intelligent men should execute the performance of saṅkīrtana-yajña by chanting the holy names Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. One should invite people, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, and then distribute prasāda. This yajña will satisfy all the demigods, and thus there will be peace and prosperity in the world. Another difficulty in performing the Vedic rituals is that if one fails to satisfy even one demigod out of the many hundreds of thousands of demigods, just as Dakṣa failed to satisfy Lord Śiva, there will be disaster. But in this age the performance of sacrifice has been simplified. One can chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, and by pleasing Kṛṣṇa one can satisfy all the demigods automatically. Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Fourth Canto, Sixth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “Brahmā Satisfies Lord Śiva.” |
TEXT 27 ‰iTvJa Ocu" Tatv& Na Tae vYaMaNaÅNa åd]XaaPaaTa( k-MaR<YavGa]hiDaYaae >aGaviNvdaMa" ) DaMaaeRPal/+a<aiMad& i}av*dßra:Ya& jaTa& YadQaRMaiDadEvMadaeVYavSQaa" )) 27 )) ṛtvija ūcuḥ tattvaṁ na te vayam anañjana rudra-śāpāt karmaṇy avagraha-dhiyo bhagavan vidāmaḥ dharmopalakṣaṇam idaṁ trivṛd adhvarākhyaṁ jñātaṁ yad-artham adhidaivam ado vyavasthāḥ SYNONYMS ṛtvijaḥ—the priests; ūcuḥ—began to say; tattvam—truth; na—not; te—of Your Lordship; vayam—all of us; anañjana—without material contamination; rudra—Lord Śiva; śāpāt—by his curse; karmaṇi—in fruitive activities; avagraha—being too much attached; dhiyaḥ—of such intelligence; bhagavan—O Lord; vidāmaḥ—know; dharma—religion; upalakṣaṇam—symbolized; idam—this; tri-vṛt—the three departments of knowledge of the Vedas; adhvara—sacrifice; ākhyam—of the name; jñātam—known to us; yat—that; artham—for the matter of; adhidaivam—for worshiping the demigods; adaḥ—this; vyavasthāḥ—arrangement. TRANSLATION The priests addressed the Lord, saying: O Lord, transcendental to material contamination, by the curse offered by Lord Śiva’s men we have become attached to fruitive activities, and thus we are now fallen and therefore do not know anything about You. On the contrary, we are now involved in the injunctions of the three departments of the Vedic knowledge under the plea of executing rituals in the name of yajña. We know that You have made arrangements for distributing the respective shares of the demigods. PURPORT The Vedas are known as traiguṇya-viṣayā vedāḥ (Bg. 2.45). Those who are serious students of the Vedas are very much attached to the ritualistic ceremonies mentioned in the Vedas, and therefore these veda-vādīs cannot understand that the ultimate goal of the Vedas is to understand Lord Kṛṣṇa, or Viṣṇu. Those who have transcended the qualitative Vedic attractions, however, can understand Kṛṣṇa, who is never contaminated by the material qualities. Therefore Lord Viṣṇu is addressed here as anañjana (free from material contamination). In Bhagavad-gītā (2.42) the crude Vedic scholars have been deprecated by Kṛṣṇa as follows: yām imāṁ puṣpitāṁ vācaṁ pravadanty avipaścitaḥ veda-vāda-ratāḥ pārtha nānyad astīti vādinaḥ “Men of small knowledge are very much attached to the flowery words of the Vedas, and they say that there is nothing more than this.” |
TEXT 31 b]øaevac NaETaTSvæPa& >avTaae_SaaE PadaQaR‚ >aedGa]hE" Pauåzae Yaavdq+aeTa( ) jaNaSYa caQaRSYa Gau<aSYa caé[Yaae MaaYaaMaYaad( VYaiTair¢-ae MaTaSTvMa( )) 31 )) brahmovāca naitat svarūpaṁ bhavato ’sau padārtha- bheda-grahaiḥ puruṣo yāvad īkṣet jñānasya cārthasya guṇasya cāśrayo māyāmayād vyatirikto matas tvam SYNONYMS brahmā uvāca—Lord Brahmā said; na—not; etat—this; svarūpam—eternal form; bhavataḥ—Your; asau—that other; pada-artha—knowledge; bheda—different; grahaiḥ—by the acquiring; puruṣaḥ—person; yāvat—as long as; īkṣet—wants to see; jñānasya—of knowledge; ca—also; arthasya—of the objective; guṇasya—of the instruments of knowledge; ca—also; āśrayaḥ—the basis; māyā-mayāt—from being made of material energy; vyatiriktaḥ—distinct; mataḥ—regarded; tvam—You. TRANSLATION Lord Brahmā said: My dear Lord, Your personality and eternal form cannot be understood by any person who is trying to know You through the different processes of acquiring knowledge. Your position is always transcendental to the material creation, whereas the empiric attempt to understand You is material, as are its objectives and instruments. PURPORT It is said that the transcendental name, qualities, activities, paraphernalia, etc., of the Supreme Personality of Godhead cannot be understood with our material senses. The attempt of the empiric philosophers to understand the Absolute Truth by speculation is always futile because their process of understanding, their objective and the instruments by which they try to understand the Absolute Truth are all material. The Lord is aprākṛta, beyond the creation of the material world. This fact is also accepted by the great impersonalist Śaṅkarācārya: nārāyaṇaḥ paro ’vyaktād aṇḍam avyakta-sambhavam. Avyakta, or the original material cause, is beyond this material manifestation and is the cause of the material world. Because Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is beyond the material world, one cannot speculate upon Him by any material method. One has to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead simply by the transcendental method of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (18.55). Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti: only by devotional service can one understand the transcendental form of the Lord. The difference between the impersonalists and the personalists is that the impersonalists, limited by their speculative processes, cannot even approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whereas the devotees please the Supreme Personality of Godhead through His transcendental loving service. Sevonmukhe hi: due to the service attitude of the devotee, the Lord is revealed to him. The Supreme Lord cannot be understood by materialistic persons even though He is present before them. In Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Kṛṣṇa therefore condemns such materialists as mūḍhas. Mūḍha means “rascal.” It is said in the Gītā, “Only rascals think of Lord Kṛṣṇa as an ordinary person. They do not know what Lord Kṛṣṇa’s position is or what His transcendental potencies are.” Unaware of His transcendental potencies, the impersonalists deride the person of Lord Kṛṣṇa, whereas the devotees, by dint of their service attitude, can understand Him as the Personality of Godhead. In the Tenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā, Arjuna also confirmed that it is very difficult to understand the personality of the Lord. |
TEXT 34 ‰zYa Ocu" ANaiNvTa& Tae >aGavNa( ivceiíTa& YadaTMaNaa criSa ih k-MaR NaaJYaSae ) iv>aUTaYae YaTa oPaSaedurqìrq& Na MaNYaTae SvYaMaNauvTaRTaq& >avaNa( )) 34 )) ṛṣaya ūcuḥ ananvitaṁ te bhagavan viceṣṭitaṁ yad ātmanā carasi hi karma nājyase vibhūtaye yata upasedur īśvarīṁ na manyate svayam anuvartatīṁ bhavān SYNONYMS ṛṣayaḥ—the sages; ūcuḥ—prayed; ananvitam—wonderful; te—Your; bhagavan—O possessor of all opulences; viceṣṭitam—activities; yat—which; ātmanā—by Your potencies; carasi—You execute; hi—certainly; karma—to such activities; na ajyase—You are not attached; vibhūtaye—for her mercy; yataḥ—from whom; upaseduḥ—worshiped; īśvarīm—Lakṣmī, the goddess of fortune; na manyate—are not attached; svayam—Yourself; anuvartatīm—to Your obedient servant (Lakṣmī); bhavān—Your Lordship. TRANSLATION The sages prayed: Dear Lord, Your activities are most wonderful, and although You do everything by Your different potencies, You are not at all attached to such activities. You are not even attached to the goddess of fortune, who is worshiped by the great demigods like Brahmā, who pray to achieve her mercy. PURPORT In Bhagavad-gītā it is said that the Lord has no desire to achieve any result from His wonderful activities, nor has He any need to perform them. But still, in order to give an example to people in general, He sometimes acts, and those activities are very wonderful. He is not attached to anything. Na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti: although He acts very wonderfully, He is not at all attached to anything (Bg. 4.14). He is self-sufficient. The example is given here that the goddess of fortune, Lakṣmī, is always engaged in the service of the Lord, but still He is not attached to her. Even great demigods like Brahmā worship the goddess of fortune in order to win her favor, but although the Lord is worshiped by many hundreds and thousands of goddesses of fortune, He is not at all attached to any one of them. This distinction concerning the exalted transcendental position of the Lord is specifically mentioned by the great sages; He is not like the ordinary living entity, who is attached to the results of pious activities. |
TEXT 37 l/aek-Paal/a Ocu" d*í" ik&- Naae d*iG>arSad(Ga]hESTv& Pa[TYaGd]ía d*XYaTae YaeNa ivìMa( ) MaaYaa ùeza >avdqYaa ih >aUMaNa( YaSTv& zï" PaÄi>a>aaRiSa >aUTaE" )) 37 )) lokapālā ūcuḥ dṛṣṭaḥ kiṁ no dṛgbhir asad-grahais tvaṁ pratyag-draṣṭā dṛśyate yena viśvam māyā hy eṣā bhavadīyā hi bhūman yas tvaṁ ṣaṣṭhaḥ pañcabhir bhāsi bhūtaiḥ SYNONYMS loka-pālāḥ—the governors of the different planets; ūcuḥ—said; dṛṣṭaḥ—seen; kim—whether; naḥ—by us; dṛgbhiḥ—by the material senses; asat-grahaiḥ—revealing the cosmic manifestation; tvam—You; pratyak-draṣṭā—inner witness; dṛśyate—is seen; yena—by whom; viśvam—the universe; māyā—material world; hi—because; eṣā—this; bhavadīyā—Your; hi—certainly; bhūman—O possessor of the universe; yaḥ—because; tvam—You; ṣaṣṭhaḥ—the sixth; pañcabhiḥ—with the five; bhāsi—appear; bhūtaiḥ—with the elements. TRANSLATION The governors of various planets spoke as follows: Dear Lord, we believe only in our direct perception, but under the circumstances we do not know whether we have actually seen You with our material senses. By our material senses we can simply perceive the cosmic manifestation, but You are beyond the five elements. You are the sixth. We see You, therefore, as a creation of the material world. PURPORT The governors of the various planets are certainly materially opulent and very puffed up. Such persons are unable to understand the transcendental, eternal form of the Lord. In the Brahma-saṁhitā it is stated that only persons who have anointed their eyes with love of Godhead can see the Personality of Godhead in every step of their activities. Also, in the prayers of Kuntī (Bhāg. 1.8.26) it is stated that only those who are akiñcana-gocaram, who are not materially puffed up, can see the Supreme Personality of Godhead; others are bewildered and cannot even think of the Absolute Truth. |
TEXT 38 YaaeGaeìra Ocu" Pa[eYaaà Tae_NYaae_STYaMauTaSTviYa Pa[>aae ivìaTMaNaq+aeà Pa*QaGYa AaTMaNa" ) AQaaiPa >a¢-yeXaTaYaaePaDaavTaa‚ MaNaNYav*tYaaNauGa*ha<a vTSal/ )) 38 )) yogeśvarā ūcuḥ preyān na te ’nyo ’sty amutas tvayi prabho viśvātmanīkṣen na pṛthag ya ātmanaḥ athāpi bhaktyeśa tayopadhāvatām ananya-vṛttyānugṛhāṇa vatsala SYNONYMS yoga-īśvarāḥ—the great mystics; ūcuḥ—said; preyān—very dear; na—not; te—of You; anyaḥ—another; asti—there is; amutaḥ—from that; tvayi—in You; prabho—dear Lord; viśva-ātmani—in the Supersoul of all living entities; īkṣet—see; na—not; pṛthak—different; yaḥ—who; ātmanaḥ—the living entities; atha api—so much more; bhaktyā—with devotion; īśa—O Lord; tayā—with it; upadhāvatām—of those who worship; ananya-vṛttyā—unfailing; anugṛhāṇa—favor; vatsala—O favorable Lord. TRANSLATION The great mystics said: Dear Lord, persons who see You as nondifferent from themselves, knowing that You are the Supersoul of all living entities, are certainly very, very dear to You. You are very favorable toward those who engage in devotional service, accepting You as the Lord and themselves as the servants. By Your mercy, You are always inclined in their favor. PURPORT It is indicated in this verse that the monists and the great mystics know the Supreme Personality of Godhead as one. This oneness is not the misunderstanding that a living entity is equal in every respect to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This monism is based on pure knowledge as described and confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (7.17): priyo hi jñānino ’tyartham ahaṁ sa ca mama priyaḥ. The Lord says that those who are advanced in transcendental knowledge and know the science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness are very dear to Him, and He also is very dear to them. Those who are actually in perfect knowledge of the science of God know that the living entities are superior energy of the Supreme Lord. This is stated in Bhagavad-gītā, Seventh Chapter: the material energy is inferior, and the living entities are superior energy. Energy and the energetic are nondifferent; therefore, energies possess the same quality as the energetic. Persons who are in full knowledge of the Personality of Godhead, analyzing His different energies and knowing their own constitutional position, are certainly very, very dear to the Lord. Persons, however, who may not even be conversant with knowledge of the Supreme Personality but who always think of the Lord with love and faith, feeling that He is great and that they are His parts and parcels, ever His servitors, are even more favored by Him. The particular significance of this verse is that the Lord is addressed as vatsala. Vatsala means “always favorably disposed.” The Lord’s name is bhakta-vatsala. The Lord is famous as bhakta-vatsala, which means that He is always favorably inclined to the devotees, whereas He is never addressed anywhere in the Vedic literature as jñānī-vatsala. |
TEXT 46 Tv& Paura Gaa& rSaaYaa MahaSaUk-rae d&í\Yaa PaiÚNaq& var<aeNd]ae YaQaa ) STaUYaMaaNaae NadçIl/Yaa YaaeiGai>a‚ VYauRÂhQaR }aYaqGaa}a Yaj§-Tau" )) 46 )) tvaṁ purā gāṁ rasāyā mahā-sūkaro daṁṣṭrayā padminīṁ vāraṇendro yathā stūyamāno nadal līlayā yogibhir vyujjahartha trayī-gātra yajña-kratuḥ SYNONYMS tvam—You; purā—in the past; gām—the earth; rasāyāḥ—from within the water; mahā-sūkaraḥ—the great boar incarnation; daṁṣṭrayā—with Your tusk; padminīm—a lotus; vāraṇa-indraḥ—an elephant; yathā—as; stūyamānaḥ—being offered prayers; nadan—vibrating; līlayā—very easily; yogibhiḥ—by great sages like Sanaka, etc.; vyujjahartha—picked up; trayī-gātra—O personified Vedic knowledge; yajña-kratuḥ—having the form of sacrifice. TRANSLATION Dear Lord, O personified Vedic knowledge, in the past millennium, long, long ago, when You appeared as the great boar incarnation, You picked up the world from the water, as an elephant picks up a lotus flower from a lake. When You vibrated transcendental sound in that gigantic form of a boar, the sound was accepted as a sacrificial hymn, and great sages like Sanaka meditated upon it and offered prayers for Your glorification. PURPORT A significant word used in this verse is trayī-gātra, which means that the transcendental form of the Lord is the Vedas. Anyone who engages in the worship of the Deity, or the form of the Lord in the temple, is understood to be studying all the Vedas twenty-four hours a day. Simply by decorating the Deities of the Lord, Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, in the temple, one very minutely studies the injunctions of the Vedas. Even a neophyte devotee who simply engages in the worship of the Deity is understood to be in direct touch with the purport of Vedic knowledge. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15), vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ: the purport of the Vedas is to understand Him, Kṛṣṇa. One who worships and serves Kṛṣṇa directly has understood the truths of the Vedas. |
TEXT 49 >aGavaNa( SveNa >aaGaeNa SavaRTMaa SavR>aaGa>auk(- ) d+a& b>aaz Aa>aaZYa Pa[qYaMaa<a wvaNaga )) 49 )) bhagavān svena bhāgena sarvātmā sarva-bhāga-bhuk dakṣaṁ babhāṣa ābhāṣya prīyamāṇa ivānagha SYNONYMS bhagavān—Lord Viṣṇu; svena—with His own; bhāgena—with the share; sarva-ātmā—the Supersoul of all living entities; sarva-bhāga-bhuk—the enjoyer of the results of all sacrifices; dakṣam—Dakṣa; babhāṣe—said; ābhāṣya—addressing; prīyamāṇaḥ—being satisfied; iva—as; anagha—O sinless Vidura. TRANSLATION Maitreya continued: My dear sinless Vidura, Lord Viṣṇu is actually the enjoyer of the results of all sacrifices. Yet because of His being the Supersoul of all living entities, He was satisfied simply with His share of the sacrificial offerings. He therefore addressed Dakṣa in a pleasing attitude. PURPORT In Bhagavad-gītā (5.29) it is said, bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasām: Lord Viṣṇu, or Kṛṣṇa, is the supreme enjoyer of all the results of sacrifices, austerities and penances; in whatever one may engage, the ultimate goal is Viṣṇu. If a person does not know that, he is misled. As the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu has nothing to demand from anyone. He is self-satisfied, self-sufficient, but He accepts the offerings of yajña because of His friendly attitude toward all living entities. When His share of the sacrificial results was offered to Him, He appeared very pleased. It is said in Bhagavad-gītā (9.26), patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati: if any devotee offers Him even a small leaf, or a flower or water, if it is offered with love and affection, the Lord accepts it and is pleased. Although He is self-sufficient and does not need anything from anyone, He accepts such offerings because, as Supersoul, He has such a friendly attitude toward all living entities. Another point here is that He does not encroach upon another’s share. ln the yajña there is a share for the demigods, Lord Śiva, and Lord Brahmā, and a share for Lord Viṣṇu. He is satisfied with His own share and does not encroach upon others’. Indirectly, He indicated that He was not satisfied with Dakṣa’s trying to deny Lord Śiva his share. Maitreya addressed Vidura as sinless because Vidura was a pure Vaiṣṇava and never committed any offense to any demigod. Although Vaiṣṇavas accept Lord Viṣṇu as the Supreme, they are not prone to offend demigods. They give the demigods proper respect. Vaiṣṇavas accept Lord Śiva as the best Vaiṣṇava. For a Vaiṣṇava there is no possibility of offending any demigods, and the demigods are also pleased with the Vaiṣṇava because they are faultless devotees of Lord Viṣṇu. |
é[q>aGavaNauvac Ah& b]øa c XavRê JaGaTa" k-ar<a& ParMa( ) AaTMaeìr oPad]ía SvYaNd*GaivXaez<a" )) 50 )) śrī-bhagavān uvāca ahaṁ brahmā ca śarvaś ca jagataḥ kāraṇaṁ param ātmeśvara upadraṣṭā svayan-dṛg aviśeṣaṇaḥ SYNONYMS śrī-bhagavān—Lord Viṣṇu; uvāca—said; aham—I; brahmā—Brahmā; ca—and; śarvaḥ—Lord Śiva; ca—and; jagataḥ—of the material manifestation; kāraṇam—cause; param—supreme; ātma-īśvaraḥ—the Supersoul; upadraṣṭā—the witness; svayam-dṛk—self-sufficient; aviśeṣaṇaḥ—there is no difference. TRANSLATION Lord Viṣṇu replied: Brahmā, Lord Śiva and I are the supreme cause of the material manifestation. I am the Supersoul, the self sufficient witness. But impersonally there is no difference between Brahmā, Lord Śiva and Me. PURPORT Lord Brahmā was born out of the transcendental body of Lord Viṣṇu, and Lord Śiva was born out of the body of Brahmā. Lord Viṣṇu, therefore, is the supreme cause. In the Vedas also it is stated that in the beginning there was only Viṣṇu, Nārāyaṇa; there was no Brahmā or Śiva. Similarly, Śaṅkarācārya confirmed this: nārāyaṇaḥ paraḥ. Nārāyaṇa, or Lord Viṣṇu, is the origin, and Brahmā and Śiva are manifested after creation. Lord Viṣṇu is also ātmeśvara, the Supersoul in everyone. Under His direction, everything is prompted from within. For example, in the beginning of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is stated, tene brahma hṛdā: He first educated Lord Brahmā from within. In Bhagavad-gītā (10.2) Lord Kṛṣṇa states, aham ādir hi devānām: Lord Viṣṇu, or Kṛṣṇa, is the origin of all demigods, including Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva. In another place in Bhagavad-gītā (10.8) Kṛṣṇa states, ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ: “Everything is generated from Me.” This includes all the demigods. Similarly, in the Vedānta-sūtra: janmādy asya yataḥ [SB 1.1.1]. And in the Upaniṣads is the statement yato vā imāni bhūtāni jāyante. Everything is generated from Lord Viṣṇu, everything is maintained by Him, and everything is annihilated by His energy. Therefore, by their actions and reactions, the energies which come from Him create the cosmic manifestations and also dissolve the whole creation. Thus the Lord is the cause and also the effect. Whatever effect we see is the interaction of His energy, and because the energy is generated from Him, He is both cause and effect. Simultaneously, everything is different and the same. It is said that everything is Brahman: sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma. In the highest vision, nothing is beyond Brahman, and therefore Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva are certainly nondifferent from Him. |
TEXT 51 AaTMaMaaYaa& SaMaaivXYa Saae_h& Gau<aMaYaq& iÜJa ) Sa*JaNa( r+aNa( hrNa( ivì& dDa]e Sa&ja& i§-YaaeicTaaMa( )) 51 )) ātma-māyāṁ samāviśya so ’haṁ guṇamayīṁ dvija sṛjan rakṣan haran viśvaṁ dadhre saṁjñāṁ kriyocitām SYNONYMS ātma-māyām—My energy; samāviśya—having entered; saḥ—Myself; aham—I; guṇa-mayīm—composed of the modes of material nature; dvi-ja—O twice-born Dakṣa; sṛjan—creating; rakṣan—maintaining; haran—annihilating; viśvam—the cosmic manifestation; dadhre—I cause to be born; saṁjñām—a name; kriyā-ucitām—according to the activity. TRANSLATION The Lord continued: My dear Dakṣa Dvija, I am the original Personality of Godhead, but in order to create, maintain and annihilate this cosmic manifestation, I act through My material energy, and according to the different grades of activity, My representations are differently named. PURPORT As explained in Bhagavad-gītā (7.5), jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho: the whole world is energy released from the supreme source, the Personality of Godhead, who, it is further stated in Bhagavad-gītā, acts in superior energies and inferior energies. The superior energy is the living entity, who is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. As parts and parcels, the living entities are not different from the Supreme Lord; the energy emanated from Him is not different from Him. But in the actual activity of this material world, the living entity is under the different qualities of material energy and in different forms. There are 8,400,000 life forms. The same living entity acts under the influence of the different qualities of material nature. The entities have different bodies, but originally, in the beginning of creation, Lord Viṣṇu is alone. For the purpose of creation, Brahmā is manifested, and for annihilation there is Lord Śiva. As far as the spiritual entrance into the material world is concerned, all beings are part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, but under the covering of different material qualities they have different names. Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva are qualitative incarnations of Viṣṇu, as guṇa-avatāras, and Viṣṇu with them accepts control of the quality of goodness; therefore He is also a qualitative incarnation like Lord Śiva and Lord Brahmā. Actually the different names exist for different directions, otherwise the origin is one only. |
TEXT 53 YaQaa PauMaaà Sva(r)ezu iXar"Paa<Yaaidzu KvicTa( ) PaarKYabuiÖ& ku-åTae Wv& >aUTaezu MaTPar" )) 53 )) yathā pumān na svāṅgeṣu śiraḥ-pāṇy-ādiṣu kvacit pārakya-buddhiṁ kurute evaṁ bhūteṣu mat-paraḥ SYNONYMS yathā—as; pumān—a person; na—not; sva-aṅgeṣu—in his own body; śiraḥ-pāṇi-ādiṣu—between the head and the hands and other parts of the body; kvacit—sometimes; pārakya-buddhim—differentiation; kurute—make; evam—thus; bhūteṣu—among living entities; mat-paraḥ—My devotee. TRANSLATION A person with average intelligence does not think the head and other parts of the body to be separate. Similarly, My devotee does not differentiate Viṣṇu, the all-pervading Personality of Godhead, from any thing or any living entity. PURPORT Whenever there is disease in any part of the body, the whole body takes care of the ailing part. Similarly, a devotee’s oneness is manifested in His compassion for all conditioned souls. Bhagavad-gītā (5.18) says, paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ: those who are learned see everyone’s conditional life equally. Devotees are compassionate to every conditioned soul, and therefore they are known as apārakya-buddhi. Because devotees are learned and know that every living entity is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, they preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness to everyone so that everyone may be happy. If a particular part of the body is diseased, the whole attention of the body goes to that part. Similarly, devotees care for any person who is forgetful of Kṛṣṇa and therefore in material consciousness. The equal vision of the devotee is that he works to get all living entities back home, back to Godhead. |
ivk-LPae ivÛMaaNae_iPa Na ùSaNTaaezheTav" ) Pau&Saae MaaehMa*Tae i>aàa Yaçaeke- iNaJak-MaRi>a" )) 28 )) vikalpe vidyamāne ’pi na hy asantoṣa-hetavaḥ puṁso moham ṛte bhinnā yal loke nija-karmabhiḥ SYNONYMS vikalpe—alternation; vidyamāne api—although there is; na—not; hi—certainly; asantoṣa—dissatisfaction; hetavaḥ—causes; puṁsaḥ—of the persons; moham ṛte—without being illusioned; bhinnāḥ—separated; yat loke—within this world; nija-karmabhiḥ—by his own work. TRANSLATION My dear Dhruva, if you feel that your sense of honor has been insulted, you still have no cause for dissatisfaction. This kind of dissatisfaction is another feature of the illusory energy; every living entity is controlled by his previous actions, and therefore there are different varieties of life for enjoying or suffering. PURPORT In the Vedas it is said that the living entity is always uncontaminated and unaffected by material association. The living entity gets different types of material bodies because of his previous fruitive actions. If, however, one understands the philosophy that as a living spirit soul he has an affinity for neither suffering nor enjoyment, then he is considered to be a liberated person. It is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (18.54), brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā: when one is actually situated on the transcendental platform, he has nothing for which to lament and nothing for which to hanker. Nārada Ṛṣi first of all wanted to impress upon Dhruva Mahārāja that he was only a child; he should not have been affected by words of insult or honor. And if he were so developed as to understand honor and insult, then this understanding should have been applied in his own life; he should have known that honor and dishonor are both destined only by one’s previous actions; therefore one should not be sorry or happy under any circumstances. |
TEXT 61 ivr¢-êeiNd]YarTaaE >ai¢-YaaeGaeNa >aUYaSaa ) Ta& iNarNTar>aaveNa >aJaeTaaÖa ivMau¢-Yae )) 61 )) viraktaś cendriya-ratau bhakti-yogena bhūyasā taṁ nirantara-bhāvena bhajetāddhā vimuktaye SYNONYMS viraktaḥ ca—completely renounced order of life; indriya-ratau—in the matter of sense gratification; bhakti-yogena—by the process of devotional service; bhūyasā—with great seriousness; tam—unto Him (the Supreme); nirantara—constantly, twenty-four hours daily; bhāvena—in the topmost stage of ecstasy; bhajeta—must worship; addhā—directly; vimuktaye—for liberation. TRANSLATION If one is very serious about liberation, he must stick to the process of transcendental loving service, engaging twenty-four hours a day in the highest stage of ecstasy, and he must certainly be aloof from all activities of sense gratification. PURPORT There are different stages of perfection according to different persons’ objectives. Generally people are karmīs, for they engage in activities of sense gratification. Above the karmīs are the jñānīs, who are trying to become liberated from material entanglement. Yogīs are still more advanced because they meditate on the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And above all these are the devotees, who simply engage in the transcendental loving service of the Lord; they are situated seriously on the topmost platform of ecstasy. Here Dhruva Mahārāja is advised that if he has no desire for sense gratification, then he should directly engage himself in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. The path of apavarga, or liberation, begins from the stage called mokṣa. ln this verse the word vimuktaye, “for liberation,” is especially mentioned. If one wants to he happy within this material world, he may aspire to go to the different material planetary systems where there is a higher standard of sense gratification, but real mokṣa, or liberation, is performed without any such desire. This is explained in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu by the term anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam [Madhya 19.167], “without desire for material sense gratification.” For persons who are still inclined to enjoy material life in different stages or on different planets, the stage of liberation in bhakti-yoga is not recommended. Only persons who are completely free from the contamination of sense gratification can execute bhakti-yoga, or the process of devotional service, very purely. The activities on the path of apavarga up to the stages of dharma, artha and kāma are meant for sense gratification, but when one comes to the stage of mokṣa, the impersonalist liberation, the practitioner wants to merge into the existence of the Supreme. But that is also sense gratification. When one goes above the stage of liberation, however, he at once becomes one of the associates of the Lord to render transcendental loving service. That is technically called vimukti. For this specific vimukti liberation, Nārada Muni recommends that one directly engage himself in devotional service. |
AaDaar& MahdadqNaa& Pa[DaaNaPauåzeìrMa( ) b]ø DaarYaMaa<aSYa }aYaae l/aek-aêk-iMPare )) 78 )) ādhāraṁ mahad-ādīnāṁ pradhāna-puruṣeśvaram brahma dhārayamāṇasya trayo lokāś cakampire SYNONYMS ādhāram—repose; mahat-ādīnām—of the material sum total known as the mahat-tattva; pradhāna—the chief; puruṣa-īśvaram—master of all living entities; brahma—the Supreme Brahman, the Personality of Godhead; dhārayamāṇasya—having taken into the heart; trayaḥ—the three planetary systems; lokāḥ—all the planets; cakampire—began to tremble. TRANSLATION When Dhruva Mahārāja thus captured the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the refuge of the total material creation and who is the master of all living entities, the three worlds began to tremble. PURPORT In this verse the particular word brahma is very significant. Brahman refers to one who not only is the greatest, but has the potency to expand to an unlimited extent. How was it possible for Dhruva Mahārāja to capture Brahman within his heart? This question has been very nicely answered by Jīva Gosvāmī. He says that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the origin of Brahman, for since He comprises everything material and spiritual, there cannot be anything greater than He. In the Bhagavad-gītā also the Supreme Godhead says, “I am the resting place of Brahman.” Many persons, especially the Māyāvādī philosophers, consider Brahman the biggest, all-expanding substance, but according to this verse and other Vedic literatures, such as Bhagavad-gītā, the resting place of Brahman is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, just as the resting place of the sunshine is the sun globe. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, therefore, says that since the transcendental form of the Lord is the seed of all greatness, He is the Supreme Brahman. Since the Supreme Brahman was situated in the heart of Dhruva Mahārāja, he became heavier than the heaviest, and therefore everything trembled in all three worlds and in the spiritual world. The mahat-tattva, or the sum total of the material creation, is to be understood to be the ultimate end of all universes, including all the living entities therein. Brahman is the resort of the mahat-tattva, which includes all material and spiritual entities. It is described in this connection that the Supreme Brahman, the Personality of Godhead, is the master of both pradhāna and puruṣa. Pradhāna means subtle matter, such as ether. puruṣa means the spiritual spark living entities who are entangled in that subtle material existence. These may also be described as parā prakṛti and aparā prakṛti, as stated in Bhagavad-gītā. Kṛṣṇa, being the controller of both the prakṛtis, is thus the master of pradhāna and puruṣa. In the Vedic hymns also the Supreme Brahman is described as antaḥ-praviṣṭaḥ śāstā. This indicates that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is controlling everything and entering into everything. The Brahma-saṁhitā (5.35) further confirms this. Aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-stham: He has entered not only the universes, but even the atom. In Bhagavad-gītā (10.42) Kṛṣṇa also says, viṣṭabhyāham idaṁ kṛtsnam. The Supreme Personality of Godhead controls everything by entering into everything. By associating constantly with the Supreme Personality in his heart, Dhruva Mahārāja naturally became equal to the greatest, Brahman, by His association, and thus became the heaviest, and the entire universe trembled. ln conclusion, a person who always concentrates on the transcendental form of Kṛṣṇa within his heart can very easily strike the whole world with wonder at his activities. This is the perfection of yoga performance, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (6.47). Yoginām api sarveṣām: of all yogīs, the bhakti-yogī, who thinks of Kṛṣṇa always within his heart and engages in His loving transcendental service, is the topmost. Ordinary yogīs can exhibit wonderful material activities, known as aṣṭa-siddhi, eight kinds of yogic perfection, but a pure devotee of the Lord can surpass these perfections by performing activities which can make the whole universe tremble. |
TEXT 7 Wk-STvMaev >aGaviàdMaaTMaXa¢-ya MaaYaa:YaYaaeåGau<aYaa MahdaÛXaezMa( ) Sa*îaNauivXYa PauåzSTadSad(Gau<aezu NaaNaev daåzu iv>aavSauviÜ>aaiSa )) 7 )) ekas tvam eva bhagavann idam ātma-śaktyā māyākhyayoru-guṇayā mahad-ādy-aśeṣam sṛṣṭvānuviśya puruṣas tad-asad-guṇeṣu nāneva dāruṣu vibhāvasuvad vibhāsi SYNONYMS ekaḥ—one; tvam—you; eva—certainly; bhagavan—O my Lord; idam—this material world; ātma-śaktyā—by Your own potency; māyā-ākhyayā—of the name māyā; uru—greatly powerful; guṇayā—consisting of the modes of nature; mahat-ādi—the mahat-tattva, etc.; aśeṣam—unlimited; sṛṣṭvā—after creating; anuviśya—then after entering; puruṣaḥ—the Supersoul; tat—of māyā; asat-guṇeṣu—into the temporarily manifested qualities; nānā—variously; iva—as if; dāruṣu—into pieces of wood; vibhāvasu-vat—just like fire; vibhāsi—You appear. TRANSLATION My Lord, You are the supreme one, but by Your different energies You appear differently in the spiritual and material worlds. You create the total energy of the material world by Your external potency, and after creation You enter within the material world as the Supersoul. You are the Supreme Person, and through the temporary modes of material nature You create varieties of manifestation, just as fire, entering into wood of different shapes, burns brilliantly in different varieties. PURPORT Dhruva Mahārāja realized that the Supreme Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, acts through His different energies, not that He becomes void or impersonal and thus becomes all-pervading. The Māyāvādī philosopher thinks that the Absolute Truth, being spread throughout the cosmic manifestation, has no personal form. But here Dhruva Mahārāja, upon realization of the Vedic conclusion, says, “You are spread all over the cosmic manifestation by Your energy.” This energy is basically spiritual, but because it acts in the material world temporarily, it is called māyā, or illusory energy. In other words, for everyone but the devotees the Lord’s energy acts as external energy. Dhruva Mahārāja could understand this fact very nicely, and he could understand also that the energy and the energetic are one and the same. The energy cannot be separated from the energetic. The identity of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the feature of Paramātmā, or Supersoul, is admitted herein. His original, spiritual energy enlivens the material energy, and thus the dead body appears to have life force. Voidist philosophers think that under certain material conditions the symptoms of life occur in the material body, but the fact is that the material body cannot act on its own. Even a machine needs separate energy (electricity, steam, etc.). It is stated in this verse that the material energy acts in varieties of material bodies, just as fire burns differently in different wood according to the size and quality of the wood. In the case of devotees the same energy is transformed into spiritual energy; this is possible because the energy is originally spiritual, not material. As it is said, viṣṇu-śaktiḥ parā proktā [Cc. Madhya 6.154]. The original energy inspires a devotee, and thus he engages all his bodily limbs in the service of the Lord. The same energy, as external potency, engages the ordinary nondevotees in material activities for sense enjoyment. We should mark the difference between māyā and sva-dhāma—for devotees the sva-dhāma acts, whereas in the case of nondevotees the māyā energy acts. |
TEXT 10 Yaa iNav*RiTaSTaNau>a*Taa& Tav PaadPaÚ‚ DYaaNaaÙvÂNak-Qaaé[v<aeNa va SYaaTa( ) Saa b]øi<a SvMaihMaNYaiPa NaaQa Maa >aUTa( ik&- TvNTak-aiSalu/il/TaaTPaTaTaa& ivMaaNaaTa( )) 10 )) yā nirvṛtis tanu-bhṛtāṁ tava pāda-padma- dhyānād bhavaj-jana-kathā-śravaṇena vā syāt sā brahmaṇi sva-mahimany api nātha mā bhūt kiṁ tv antakāsi-lulitāt patatāṁ vimānāt SYNONYMS yā—that which; nirvṛtiḥ—bliss; tanu-bhṛtām—of the embodied; tava—Your; pāda-padma—lotus feet; dhyānāt—from meditating upon; bhavat-jana—from Your intimate devotees; kathā—topics; śravaṇena—by hearing; vā—or; syāt—comes into being; sā—that bliss; brahmaṇi—in the impersonal Brahman; sva-mahimani—Your own magnificence; api—even; nātha—O Lord; mā—never; bhūt—exists; kim—what to speak of; tu—then; antaka-asi—by the sword of death; lulitāt—being destroyed; patatām—of those who fall down; vimānāt—from their airplanes. TRANSLATION My Lord, the transcendental bliss derived from meditating upon Your lotus feet or hearing about Your glories from pure devotees is so unlimited that it is far beyond the stage of brahmānanda, wherein one thinks himself merged in the impersonal Brahman as one with the Supreme. Since brahmānanda is also defeated by the transcendental bliss derived from devotional service, then what to speak of the temporary blissfulness of elevating oneself to the heavenly planets, which is ended by the separating sword of time? Although one may be elevated to the heavenly planets, he falls down in due course of time. PURPORT The transcendental bliss derived from devotional service, primarily from śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam, hearing and chanting, cannot be compared to the happiness derived by karmīs by elevating themselves to the heavenly planets or by jñānīs or yogīs, who enjoy oneness with the supreme impersonal Brahman. Yogīs generally meditate upon the transcendental form of Viṣṇu, but devotees not only meditate upon Him but actually engage in the direct service of the Lord. In the previous verse we find the phrase bhavāpyaya, which refers to birth and death. The Lord can give relief from the chain of birth and death. It is a misunderstanding to think, as do the monists, that when one gets relief from the process of birth and death he merges into the Supreme Brahman. Here it is clearly said that the transcendental bliss derived from śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam by pure devotees cannot be compared to brahmānanda, or the impersonal conception of transcendental bliss derived by merging into the Absolute. The position of karmīs is still more degraded. Their aim is to elevate themselves to the higher planetary systems. It is said, yānti deva-vratā devān: persons who worship the demigods are elevated to the heavenly planets (Bg. 9.25). But elsewhere in Bhagavad-gītā (9.21) we find, kṣīṇe puṇye martya-lokaṁ viśanti: those who are elevated to the higher planetary systems must come down again as soon as the results of their pious activities are exhausted. They are like the modern astronauts who go to the moon; as soon as their fuel is used up, they are obliged to come back down to this earth. As the modern astronauts who go to the moon or other heavenly planets by force of jet propulsion have to come down again after exhausting their fuel, so also do those who are elevated to the heavenly planets by force of yajñas and pious activities. Antakāsi-lulitāt: by the sword of time one is cut from his exalted position within this material world, and he comes down again. Dhruva Mahārāja appreciated that the results of devotional service are far more valuable than merging into the Absolute or being elevated to the heavenly planets. The words patatāṁ vimānāt are very significant. Vimāna means “airplane.” Those who are elevated to the heavenly planets are like airplanes, which drop when they run out of fuel. |
TEXT 11 >ai¢&- Mauhu" Pa[vhTaa& TviYa Mae Pa[Sa(r)ae >aUYaadNaNTa MahTaaMaMal/aXaYaaNaaMa( ) YaeNaaÅSaaeLb<aMauåVYaSaNa& >avaiBDa& NaeZYae >avd(Gau<ak-QaaMa*TaPaaNaMata" )) 11 )) bhaktiṁ muhuḥ pravahatāṁ tvayi me prasaṅgo bhūyād ananta mahatām amalāśayānām yenāñjasolbaṇam uru-vyasanaṁ bhavābdhiṁ neṣye bhavad-guṇa-kathāmṛta-pāna-mattaḥ SYNONYMS bhaktim—devotional service; muhuḥ—constantly; pravahatām—of those who perform; tvayi—unto You; me—my; prasaṅgaḥ—intimate association; bhūyāt—may it become; ananta—O unlimited; mahatām—of the great devotees; amala-āśayānām—whose hearts are freed from material contamination; yena—by which; añjasā—easily; ulbaṇam—terrible; uru—great; vyasanam—full of dangers; bhava-abdhim—the ocean of material existence; neṣye—I shall cross; bhavat—Your; guṇa—transcendental qualities; kathā—pastimes; amṛta—nectar, eternal; pāna—by drinking; mattaḥ—mad. TRANSLATION Dhruva Mahārāja continued: O unlimited Lord, kindly bless me so that I may associate with great devotees who engage in Your transcendental loving service constantly, as the waves of a river constantly flow. Such transcendental devotees are completely situated in an uncontaminated state of life. By the process of devotional service I shall surely be able to cross the nescient ocean of material existence, which is filled with the waves of blazing, firelike dangers. It will be very easy for me, for I am becoming mad to hear about Your transcendental qualities and pastimes, which are eternally existent. PURPORT The significant point in Dhruva Mahārāja’s statement is that he wanted the association of pure devotees. Transcendental devotional service cannot be complete and cannot be relishable without the association of devotees. We have therefore established the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Anyone who is trying to be aloof from this Krishna Consciousness Society and yet engage in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is living in a great hallucination, for this is not possible. From this statement by Dhruva Mahārāja it is clear that unless one is associated with devotees, his devotional service does not mature; it does not become distinct from material activities. The Lord says, satāṁ prasaṅgān mama vīrya-saṁvido bhavanti hṛt-karṇa-rasāyanāḥ (Bhāg. 3.25.25). Only in the association of pure devotees can the words of Lord Kṛṣṇa be fully potent and relishable to the heart and ear. Dhruva Mahārāja explicitly wanted the association of devotees. That association in devotional activities is just like the waves of an incessantly flowing river. In our Krishna Consciousness Society we have full engagement twenty-four hours a day. Every moment of our time is always busily engaged in the service of the Lord. This is called the incessant flow of devotional service. A Māyāvādī philosopher may question us, “You may be very happy in the association of devotees, but what is your plan for crossing the ocean of material existence?” Dhruva Mahārāja’s answer is that it is not very difficult. He clearly says that this ocean can be crossed very easily if one simply becomes mad to hear the glories of the Lord. Bhavad-guṇa-kathā: for anyone who persistently engages in hearing the topics of the Lord from Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Caitanya-caritāmṛta and who is actually addicted to this process, just as one becomes addicted to intoxicants, it is very easy to cross the nescience of material existence. The ocean of material nescience is compared to a blazing fire, but to a devotee this blazing fire is insignificant because he is completely absorbed in devotional service. Although the material world is blazing fire, to a devotee it appears full of pleasure (viśvaṁ pūrṇa-sukhāyate). The purport of this statement by Dhruva Mahārāja is that devotional service in the association of devotees is the cause of the development of further devotional service. By devotional service only is one elevated to the transcendental planet Goloka Vṛndāvana, and there also there is only devotional service, for the activities of devotional service both in this world and in the spiritual world are one and the same. Devotional service does not change. The example of a mango can be given here. If one gets an unripe mango, it is still a mango, and when it is ripe it remains the same mango, but it has become more tasteful and relishable. Similarly, there is devotional service performed according to the direction of the spiritual master and the injunctions and regulative principles of śāstra, and there is devotional service in the spiritual world, rendered directly in association with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But they are both the same. There is no change. The difference is that one stage is unripe and the other is ripe and more relishable. It is possible to mature in devotional service only in the association of devotees. |
iTaYaRx(NaGaiÜJaSarqSa*PadevdETYa‚ MaTYaaRidi>a" PairicTa& SadSaiÜXaezMa( ) æPa& SQaivïMaJa Tae MahdaÛNaek&- NaaTa" Par& ParMa veiÚ Na Ya}a vad" )) 13 )) tiryaṅ-naga-dvija-sarīsṛpa-deva-daitya- martyādibhiḥ paricitaṁ sad-asad-viśeṣam rūpaṁ sthaviṣṭham aja te mahad-ādy-anekaṁ nātaḥ paraṁ parama vedmi na yatra vādaḥ SYNONYMS tiryak—by animals; naga—trees; dvija—birds; sarīsṛpa—reptiles; deva—demigods; daitya—demons; martya-ādibhiḥ—by men, etc.; paricitam—pervaded; sat-asat-viśeṣam—with varieties manifest and unmanifest; rūpam—form; sthaviṣṭham—gross universal; aja—O Unborn; te—Your; mahat-ādi—caused by the total material energy, etc.; anekam—various causes; na—not; ataḥ—from this; param—transcendental; parama—O Supreme; vedmi—I know; na—not; yatra—where; vādaḥ—various arguments. TRANSLATION My dear Lord, O Supreme Unborn, I know that the different varieties of living entities, such as animals, trees, birds, reptiles, demigods and human beings, are spread throughout the universe, which is caused by the total material energy, and I know that they are sometimes manifest and sometimes unmanifest; but I have never experienced the supreme form I behold as I see You now. Now all kinds of methods of theorizing have come to an end. PURPORT In the Bhagavad-gītā the Lord says that He has spread Himself throughout the universe, but although everything is resting upon Him, He is aloof. The same concept is expressed here by Dhruva Mahārāja. He states that before seeing the transcendental form of the Lord, he had experienced only the varieties of material forms, which are counted at one engages in the devotional service of the Lord, it is impossible to understand the ultimate form of the Lord. This is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (18.55). Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti: factual understanding of the Absolute Truth, who is the Supreme Person, cannot be obtained by any process other than devotional service. Dhruva Mahārāja here compares his previous state of understanding with the perfection of understanding in the presence of the Supreme Lord. The position of a living entity is to render service; unless he comes to the stage of appreciating the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he engages in the service of the various forms of trees, reptiles, animals, Men, demigods, etc. One can experience that one man engages in the service of a dog, another serves plants and creepers, another the demigods, and another humanity, or his boss in the office—but no one is engaged in the service of Kṛṣṇa. Aside from common men, even men who are elevated in terms of spiritual understanding are at the utmost engaged in the service of the virāṭ-rūpa, or, unable to understand the ultimate form of the Lord, they worship voidism by meditation. Dhruva Mahārāja, however, had been blessed by the Supreme Lord. When the Lord touched His conchshell to Dhruva’s forehead, real knowledge was revealed from within, and Dhruva could understand the Lord’s transcendental form. Dhruva Mahārāja here admits that not only was he ignorant, but by years he was only a child. It would not have been possible for an ignorant child to appreciate the supreme form of the Lord had he not been blessed by the Lord, who had touched His conchshell to Dhruva’s forehead. |
Tv& iNaTYaMau¢-PairéuÖivbuÖ AaTMaa kU-$=SQa AaidPauåzae >aGava&S}YaDaqXa" ) Yad(buÖyviSQaiTaMa%i<@TaYaa Svd*íya d]ía iSQaTaaviDaMa%ae VYaiTair¢- AaSSae )) 15 )) tvaṁ nitya-mukta-pariśuddha-vibuddha ātmā kūṭa-stha ādi-puruṣo bhagavāṁs try-adhīśaḥ yad-buddhy-avasthitim akhaṇḍitayā sva-dṛṣṭyā draṣṭā sthitāv adhimakho vyatirikta āsse SYNONYMS tvam—You; nitya—eternally; mukta—liberated; pariśuddha—uncontaminated; vibuddhaḥ—full of knowledge; ātmā—the Supreme Soul; kūṭa-sthaḥ—changeless; ādi—original; puruṣaḥ—person; bhagavān—the Lord, full with six opulences; tri-adhīśaḥ—master of the three modes; yat—whence; buddhi—of intellectual activities; avasthitim—all stages; akhaṇḍitayā—unbroken; sva-dṛṣṭyā—by transcendental vision; draṣṭā—You witness; sthitau—for maintaining (the universe); adhimakhaḥ—enjoyer of the results of all sacrifices; vyatiriktaḥ—differently; āsse—You are situated. TRANSLATION My Lord, by Your unbroken transcendental glance You are the supreme witness of all stages of intellectual activities. You are eternally liberated, Your existence is situated in pure goodness, and You are existent in the Supersoul without change. You are the original Personality of Godhead, full with six opulences, and You are eternally the master of the three modes of material nature. Thus, You are always different from the ordinary living entities. As Lord Viṣṇu, You maintain all the affairs of the entire universe, and yet You stand aloof and are the enjoyer of the results of all sacrifices. PURPORT An atheistic argument against the supremacy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead states that if God, the Supreme Person, appears and disappears and sleeps and awakens, then what is the difference between God and the living entity? Dhruva Mahārāja is carefully distinguishing the existence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead from that of the living entities. He points out the following differences. The Lord is eternally liberated. Whenever He appears, even within this material world, He is never entangled by the three modes of material nature. He is known, therefore, as try-adhīśa, the master of the three modes of material nature. In Bhagavad-gītā (7.14) it is said, daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā: the living entities are all entangled in the three modes of material nature. The external energy of the Lord is very strong, but the Lord, as the master of the three modes of material nature, is ever liberated from the action and reaction of those modes. He, therefore, is uncontaminated, as stated in the Īśopaniṣad. The contamination of the material world does not affect the Supreme Godhead. Kṛṣṇa therefore says in the Bhagavad-gītā that those who are rascals and fools think of Him as an ordinary human being, not knowing His paraṁ bhāvam. paraṁ bhāvam refers to His being always transcendentally situated. Material contamination cannot affect Him. Another difference between the Lord and the living entity is that a living entity is always in darkness. Even though he may be situated in the mode of goodness, there are still so many things which are unknown to him. But it is not the same for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He knows past, present and future and everything that is happening in everyone’s heart. Bhagavad-gītā confirms this (vedāhaṁ samatītāni). The Lord is not part of the soul—He is the unchangeable Supreme Soul, and the living entities are His parts and parcels. The living entity is forced to appear in this material world under the direction of daiva-māyā, but when the Lord appears, He comes by His own internal potency, ātma-māyā. Besides that, a living entity is within the time of past, present and future. His life has a beginning, a birth, and in the conditioned state his life ends with death. But the Lord is ādi-puruṣa, the original person. In the Brahma-saṁhitā Lord Brahmā offers his respect to the ādi-puruṣa, Govinda, the original person, who has no beginning, whereas the creation of this material world has a beginning. The Vedānta says, janmādy asya yataḥ; [SB 1.1.1] everything is born from the Supreme, but the Supreme has no birth. He has all the six opulences in full and beyond comparison, He is the master of material nature, His intelligence is not broken under any circumstances, and He stands aloof, although He is the maintainer of the whole creation. As stated in the Vedas (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13), nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām. The Lord is the supreme maintainer. Living entities are meant to serve Him by offering sacrifices, for He is the rightful enjoyer of the results of all sacrifices. Everyone, therefore, should engage himself in the devotional service of the Lord with his life, his riches, his intelligence and his words. This is the original, constitutional position of the living entities. One should never compare the sleeping of an ordinary living entity to the sleeping of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the Causal Ocean. There is no stage at which the living entity can compare to the Supreme Person. The Māyāvādī philosophers, being unable to adjust to all this, come to the conclusion of impersonalism or voidism. |
TEXT 19 é]q>aGaVaaNauVaac vedah& Tae VYaviSaTa& ôid raJaNYabal/k- ) TaTPa[YaC^aiMa >ad]& Tae duraPaMaiPa Sauv]Ta )) 19 )) śrī-bhagavān uvāca vedāhaṁ te vyavasitaṁ hṛdi rājanya-bālaka tat prayacchāmi bhadraṁ te durāpam api suvrata SYNONYMS śrī-bhagavān uvāca—the Personality of Godhead said; veda—know; aham—I; te—your; vyavasitam—determination; hṛdi—within the heart; rājanya-bālaka—O son of the King; tat—that; prayacchāmi—I shall give you; bhadram—all good fortune; te—unto you; durāpam—although it is very difficult to obtain; api—in spite of; su-vrata—one who has taken a pious vow. TRANSLATION The Personality of Godhead said: My dear Dhruva, son of the King, you have executed pious vows, and I also know the desire within your heart. Although your desire is very ambitious and very difficult to fulfill, I shall favor you with its fulfillment. All good fortune unto you. PURPORT The Lord is so merciful to His devotee that He immediately said to Dhruva Mahārāja, “Let there be all good fortune for you.” The fact is that Dhruva Mahārāja was very much afraid in his mind, for he had aspired after material benefit in discharging his devotional service and this was hampering him from reaching the stage of love of God. In the Bhagavad-gītā (2.44) it is said, bhogaiśvarya-prasaktānām: those who are addicted to material pleasure cannot be attracted to devotional service. It was true that at heart Dhruva Mahārāja wanted a kingdom that would be far better than Brahmaloka. This was a natural desire for a kṣatriya. He was also only five years old, and in his childish way he desired to have a kingdom far greater than his father’s, grandfather’s or great-grandfather’s. His father, Uttānapāda, was the son of Manu, and Manu was the son of Lord Brahmā. Dhruva wanted to excel all these great family members. The Lord knew Dhruva Mahārāja’s childish ambition, but how was it possible to offer Dhruva a position more exalted than Lord Brahmā’s? The Lord assured Dhruva Mahārāja that Dhruva would not be bereft of the Lord’s love. He encouraged Dhruva not to be worried that he childishly had material desires and at the same time had the pure aspiration to be a great devotee. Generally, the Lord does not award a pure devotee material opulence, even though he may desire it. But Dhruva Mahārāja’s case was different. The Lord knew that he was such a great devotee that in spite of having material opulence he would never be deviated from love of God. This example illustrates that a highly qualified devotee can have the facility of material enjoyment and at the same time execute love of God. This, however, was a special case for Dhruva Mahārāja. |
MaE}aeYa ovac wTYaicRTa" Sa >aGavaNaiTaidXYaaTMaNa" PadMa( ) bal/SYa PaXYaTaae DaaMa SvMaGaaÓå@ßJa" )) 26 )) maitreya uvāca ity arcitaḥ sa bhagavān atidiśyātmanaḥ padam bālasya paśyato dhāma svam agād garuḍa-dhvajaḥ SYNONYMS maitreyaḥ uvāca—the great sage Maitreya continued to speak; iti—thus; arcitaḥ—being honored and worshiped; saḥ—the Supreme Lord; bhagavān—the Personality of Godhead; atidiśya—after offering; ātmanaḥ—His personal; padam—residence; bālasya—while the boy; paśyataḥ—was looking on; dhāma—to His abode; svam—own; agāt—He returned; garuḍa-dhvajaḥ—Lord Viṣṇu, whose flag bears the emblem of Garuḍa. TRANSLATION The great sage Maitreya said: After being worshiped and honored by the boy, Dhruva Mahārāja, and after offering him His abode, Lord Viṣṇu, on the back of Garuḍa, returned to His abode, as Dhruva Mahārāja looked on. PURPORT From this verse it appears that Lord Viṣṇu awarded Dhruva Mahārāja the same abode in which He resides. His abode is described in the Bhagavad-gītā (15.6): yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama. |
MaE}aeYa ovac MaaTau" SaPaTNYaa vaGba<aEôRid ivÖSTau TaaNa( SMarNa( ) NaEC^NMaui¢-PaTaeMauRi¢&- TaSMaataaPaMauPaeiYavaNa( )) 29 )) maitreya uvāca mātuḥ sapatnyā vāg-bāṇair hṛdi viddhas tu tān smaran naicchan mukti-pater muktiṁ tasmāt tāpam upeyivān SYNONYMS maitreyaḥ uvāca—the great sage Maitreya replied; mātuḥ—of his mother; sa-patnyāḥ—of the co-wife; vāk-bāṇaiḥ—by the arrows of harsh words; hṛdi—in the heart; viddhaḥ—pierced; tu—then; tān—all of them; smaran—remembering; na—not; aicchat—desired; mukti-pateḥ—from the Lord, whose lotus feet give liberation; muktim—salvation; tasmāt—therefore; tāpam—grief; upeyivān—he suffered. TRANSLATION Maitreya answered: Dhruva Mahārāja’s heart, which was pierced by the arrows of the harsh words of his stepmother, was greatly aggrieved, and thus when he fixed upon his goal of life he did not forget her misbehavior. He did not demand actual liberation from this material world, but at the end of his devotional service, when the Supreme Personality of Godhead appeared before him, he was simply ashamed of the material demands he had in his mind. PURPORT This important verse has been discussed by many stalwart commentators. Why was Dhruva Mahārāja not very pleased, even after achieving the goal of life he desired? A pure devotee is always free from any kind of material desires. In the material world, one’s material desires are all most demonic; one thinks of others as one’s enemies, one thinks of revenge against one’s enemies, one aspires to become the topmost leader or topmost person in this material world, and thus one competes with all others. This has been described in the Bhagavad-gītā, Sixteenth Chapter, as asuric. A pure devotee has no demand from the Lord. His only concern is to serve the Lord sincerely and seriously, and he is not at all concerned about what will happen in the future. In the Mukunda-mālā-stotra, King Kulaśekhara, author of the book, states in his prayer: “My dear Lord, I don’t want any position of sense gratification within this material world. I simply want to engage in Your service perpetually.” Similarly, Lord Caitanya, in His Śikṣāṣṭaka, also prayed, “My Lord, I do not want any amount of material wealth, I do not want any number of materialistic followers, nor do I want any attractive wife to enjoy. The only thing I want is that I may engage life after life in Your service.” Lord Caitanya did not pray even for mukti, or liberation. In this verse Maitreya replied to Vidura that Dhruva Mahārāja, influenced by a revengeful attitude towards his insulting stepmother, did not think of mukti, nor did he know what mukti was. Therefore he failed to aim for mukti as his goal in life. But a pure devotee also does not want liberation. He is a soul completely surrendered to the Supreme Lord, and he does not demand anything from the Lord. This position was realized by Dhruva Mahārāja when he saw the Supreme Personality of Godhead present personally before him because he was elevated to the vasudeva platform. The vasudeva platform refers to the stage at which material contamination is conspicuous by absence only, or in other words where there is no question of the material modes of nature—goodness, passion and ignorance—and one can therefore see the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Because on the vasudeva platform one can see God face to face, the Lord is also called Vāsudeva. Dhruva Mahārāja’s demand was for a position so exalted that it was never enjoyed even by Lord Brahmā, his great-grandfather. Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is so affectionate and kind towards His devotee, especially to a devotee like Dhruva Mahārāja, who went to render devotional service in the forest alone at the age of only five years, that although the motive might be impure, the Lord does not consider the motive; He is concerned with the service. But if a devotee has a particular motive, the Lord directly or indirectly knows it, and therefore He does not leave the devotee’s material desires unfulfilled. These are some of the special favors by the Lord to a devotee. Dhruva Mahārāja was offered Dhruvaloka, a planet that was never resided upon by any conditioned soul. Even Brahmā, although the topmost living creature within this universe, was not allowed to enter the Dhruvaloka. Whenever there is a crisis within this universe, the demigods go to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, and they stand on the beach of the Milk Ocean. So the fulfillment of Dhruva Mahārāja’s demand—a position more exalted than that of even his great-grandfather, Brahmā—was offered to him. Here in this verse the Lord is described as mukti-pati, which means “one under whose lotus feet there are all kinds of mukti.” There are five kinds of mukti—sāyujya, sārūpya, sālokya, sāmīpya and sārṣṭi. Out of these five muktis, which can be achieved by any person engaged in devotional service to the Lord, the one which is known as sāyujya is generally demanded by Māyāvādī philosophers; they demand to become one with the impersonal Brahman effulgence of the Lord. In the opinion of many scholars, this sāyujya-mukti, although counted among the five kinds of mukti, is not actually mukti because from sāyujya-mukti one may again fall down to this material world. This information we have from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.2.32), wherein it is said, patanty adhaḥ, which means “they again fall down.” The monist philosopher, after executing severe austerity, merges into the impersonal effulgence of the Lord, but the living entity always wants reciprocation in loving affairs. Therefore, although the monist philosopher is elevated to the status of being one with the effulgence of the Lord, because there is no facility for associating with the Lord and rendering service unto Him, he again falls into this material world, and his service propensity is satisfied by materialistic welfare activities like humanitarianism, altruism and philanthropy. There are many instances of such falldowns, even for great sannyāsīs in the Māyāvāda school. Therefore Vaiṣṇava philosophers do not accept sāyujya-mukti to be within the category of mukti. According to them, mukti means transferal to the loving service of the Lord from one’s position of serving māyā. Lord Caitanya also says in this connection that the constitutional position of a living entity is to render service to the Lord. That is real mukti. When one is situated in his original position, giving up artificial positions, he is called mukta, or liberated. In the Bhagavad-gītā this is confirmed: anyone who engages in rendering transcendental loving service to the Lord is considered to be mukta, or brahma-bhūta. It is said in Bhagavad-gītā that a devotee is considered to be on the brahma-bhūta platform when he has no material contamination. In the Padma Purāṇa this is also confirmed: mukti means engagement in the service of the Lord. The great sage Maitreya explained that Dhruva Mahārāja did not desire in the beginning to engage in the service of the Lord, but he wanted an exalted position better than his great-grandfather’s. This is more or less not service to the Lord but service to the senses. Even if one gets the position of Brahmā, the most exalted position in this material world, he is a conditioned soul. Śrīla Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī says that if one is elevated to real, pure devotional service, he considers even great demigods like Brahmā and Indra to be on an equal level with an insignificant insect. The reason is that an insignificant insect has a desire for sense gratification and even a great personality like Lord Brahmā also wants to dominate this material nature. Sense gratification means domination over material nature. The whole competition between conditioned souls is based upon domination of this material nature. Modern scientists are proud of their knowledge because they are discovering new methods to dominate the laws of material nature. They think that this is the advancement of human civilization—the more they can dominate the material laws, the more advanced they think they are. Dhruva Mahārāja’s propensity in the beginning was like that. He wanted to dominate this material world in a greater position than Lord Brahmā. Therefore elsewhere it is described that after the appearance of the Lord, when Dhruva Mahārāja thought and compared his determination to his final reward, he realized that he had wanted a few particles of broken glass but instead had received many diamonds. As soon as he saw the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face, he immediately became conscious of the unimportance of his demand from the Lord to have an exalted position better than Lord Brahmā’s. When Dhruva Mahārāja became situated on the vasudeva platform due to seeing the Lord face to face, all his material contamination was cleared. Thus he became ashamed of what his demands were and what he had achieved. He was very much ashamed to think that although he had gone to Madhuvana, giving up the kingdom of his father, and he had gotten a spiritual master like Nārada Muni, he was still thinking of revenge against his stepmother and wanted to occupy an exalted post within this material world. These were the causes for his moroseness even alter he received all the desired benedictions from the Lord. When Dhruva Mahārāja factually saw the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there was no question of a revengeful attitude towards his stepmother nor any aspiration to lord it over the material world, but the Supreme Personality is so kind that He knew that Dhruva Mahārāja wanted these. Speaking before Dhruva Mahārāja, He used the word vedāham because when Dhruva Mahārāja demanded material benefits, the Lord was present within his heart and so knew everything. The Lord always knows everything a man is thinking. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā also: vedāhaṁ samatītāni. The Lord fulfilled all Dhruva Mahārāja’s desires. His revengeful attitude towards his stepmother and stepbrother was satisfied, his desire for a more exalted position than that of his great-grandfather was also fulfilled, and at the same time, his eternal position in Dhruvaloka was fixed. Although Dhruva Mahārāja’s achievement of an eternal planet was not conceived of by him, Kṛṣṇa thought, “What will Dhruva do with an exalted position within this material world?” Therefore He gave Dhruva the opportunity to rule this material world for thirty-six thousand years with unchangeable senses and the chance to perform many great sacrifices and thus become the most reputed king within this material world. And, after finishing with all this material enjoyment, Dhruva would be promoted to the spiritual world, which includes the Dhruvaloka. |
TEXT 1 MaE}aeYa ovac iNaXaMYa GadTaaMaevMa*zq<aa& DaNauiz Da]uv" ) SaNdDae_ñMauPaSPa*XYa YaàaraYa<aiNaiMaRTaMa( )) 1 )) maitreya uvāca niśamya gadatām evam ṛṣīṇāṁ dhanuṣi dhruvaḥ sandadhe ’stram upaspṛśya yan nārāyaṇa-nirmitam SYNONYMS maitreyaḥ uvāca—the sage Maitreya continued to speak; niśamya—having heard; gadatām—the words; evam—thus; ṛṣīṇām—of the sages; dhanuṣi—upon his bow; dhruvaḥ—Dhruva Mahārāja; sandadhe—fixed; astram—an arrow; upaspṛśya—after touching water; yat—that which; nārāyaṇa—by Nārāyaṇa; nirmitam—was made. TRANSLATION Śrī Maitreya said: My dear Vidura, when Dhruva Mahārāja heard the encouraging words of the great sages, he performed the ācamana by touching water and then took up his arrow made by Lord Nārāyaṇa and fixed it upon his bow. PURPORT Dhruva Mahārāja was given a specific arrow made by Lord Nārāyaṇa Himself, and he now fixed it upon his bow to finish the illusory atmosphere created by the Yakṣas. As it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.14), mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te. Without Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, no one is able to overcome the action of the illusory energy. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has also given us a nice weapon for this age, as stated in the Bhāgavatam: sāṅgopāṅgāstra—in this age, the nārāyaṇāstra, or weapon to drive away māyā, is the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra in pursuance of the associates of Lord Caitanya, such as Advaita Prabhu, Nityānanda, Gadādhara and Śrīvāsa. |
TEXT 2 SaNDaqYaMaaNa WTaiSMaNMaaYaa Gauùk-iNaiMaRTaa" ) i+aPa[& ivNaeéuivRdur (c)e-Xaa jaNaaedYae YaQaa )) 2 )) sandhīyamāna etasmin māyā guhyaka-nirmitāḥ kṣipraṁ vineśur vidura kleśā jñānodaye yathā SYNONYMS sandhīyamāne—while joining to his bow; etasmin—this nārārayaṇāstra; māyāḥ—the illusions; guhyaka-nirmitāḥ—created by the Yakṣas; kṣipram—very soon; vineśuḥ—were destroyed; vidura—O Vidura; kleśāḥ—illusory pains and pleasures; jñāna-udaye—upon the arising of knowledge; yathā—just as. TRANSLATION As soon as Dhruva Mahārāja joined the nārāyaṇāstra arrow to his bow, the illusion created by the Yakṣas was immediately vanquished, just as all material pains and pleasures are vanquished when one becomes fully cognizant of the self. PURPORT Kṛṣṇa is like the sun, and māyā, or the illusory energy of Kṛṣṇa, is like darkness. Darkness means absence of light; similarly, māyā means absence of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Kṛṣṇa consciousness and māyā are always there, side by side. As soon as there is awakening of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, all the illusory pains and pleasures of material existence are vanquished. Māyām etāṁ taranti te: [Bg. 7.14] constant chanting of the mahā-mantra will keep us always aloof from the illusory energy of māyā. |
TEXT 5 Sa TaaNa( Pa*zTkE-ri>aDaavTaae Ma*Dae iNak*-tabahUåiXaraeDaraedraNa( ) iNaNaaYa l/aek&- ParMakR-Ma<@l&/ v]JaiNTa iNai>aRÛ YaMaUßR„reTaSa" )) 5 )) sa tān pṛṣatkair abhidhāvato mṛdhe nikṛtta-bāhūru-śirodharodarān nināya lokaṁ param arka-maṇḍalaṁ vrajanti nirbhidya yam ūrdhva-retasaḥ SYNONYMS saḥ—he (Dhruva Mahārāja); tān—all the Yakṣas; pṛṣatkaiḥ—by his arrows; abhidhāvataḥ—coming forward; mṛdhe—in the battlefield; nikṛtta—being separated; bāhu—arms; ūru—thighs; śiraḥ-dhara—necks; udarān—and bellies; nināya—delivered; lokam—to the planet; param—supreme; arka-maṇḍalam—the sun globe; vrajanti—go; nirbhidya—piercing; yam—to which; ūrdhva-retasaḥ—those who do not discharge semen at any time. TRANSLATION When Dhruva Mahārāja saw the Yakṣas coming forward, he immediately took his arrows and cut the enemies to pieces. Separating their arms, legs, heads and bellies from their bodies, he delivered the Yakṣas to the planetary system which is situated above the sun globe and which is attainable only by first-class brahmacārīs, who have never discharged their semen. PURPORT To be killed by the Lord or by His devotees is auspicious for nondevotees. The Yakṣas were killed indiscriminately by Dhruva Mahārāja, but they attained the planetary system attainable only for brahmacārīs who never discharged their semen. As the impersonalist jñānīs or the demons killed by the Lord attain Brahmaloka, or Satyaloka, persons killed by a devotee of the Lord also attain Satyaloka. To reach the Satyaloka planetary system described here, one has to be elevated above the sun globe. Killing, therefore, is not always bad. If the killing is done by the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His devotee or in great sacrifices, it is for the benefit of the entity killed in that way. Material so-called nonviolence is very insignificant in comparison to killing done by the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His devotees. Even when a king or the state government kills a person who is a murderer, that killing is for the benefit of the murderer, for thus he may become cleared of all sinful reactions. An important word in this verse is ūrdhva-retasaḥ, which means brahmacārīs who have never discharged semen. Celibacy is so important that even though one does not undergo any austerities, penances or ritualistic ceremonies prescribed in the Vedas, if one simply keeps himself a pure brahmacārī, not discharging his semen, the result is that after death he goes to the Satyaloka. Generally, sex life is the cause of all miseries in the material world. In the Vedic civilization sex life is restricted in various ways. Out of the whole population of the social structure, only the gṛhasthas are allowed restricted sex life. All others refrain from sex. The people of this age especially do not know the value of not discharging semen. As such, they are variously entangled with material qualities and suffer an existence of struggle only. The word ūrdhva-retasaḥ especially indicates the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, who undergo strict principles of austerity. But in the Bhagavad-gītā (8.16) the Lord says that even if one goes up to Brahmaloka, he again comes back (ābrahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino ’rjuna). Therefore, actual mukti, or liberation, can be attained only by devotional service, because by devotional service one can go above Brahmaloka, or to the spiritual world, wherefrom he never comes back. Māyāvādī sannyāsīs are very proud of becoming liberated, but actual liberation is not possible unless one is in touch with the Supreme Lord in devotional service. It is said, hariṁ vinā na sṛtiṁ taranti: without Kṛṣṇa’s mercy, no one can have liberation. |
TEXT 10 NaaYa& MaaGaaeR ih SaaDaUNaa& ôzqke-XaaNauviTaRNaaMa( ) YadaTMaaNa& ParaGGa*ù Paéuvd(>aUTavEXaSaMa( )) 10 )) nāyaṁ mārgo hi sādhūnāṁ hṛṣīkeśānuvartinām yad ātmānaṁ parāg gṛhya paśuvad bhūta-vaiśasam SYNONYMS na—never; ayam—this; mārgaḥ—path; hi—certainly; sādhūnām—of honest persons; hṛṣīkeśa—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; anuvartinām—following the path; yat—which; ātmānam—self; parāk—the body; gṛhya—thinking to be; paśu-vat—like animals; bhūta—of living entities; vaiśasam—killing. TRANSLATION One should not accept the body as the self and thus, like the animals, kill the bodies of others. This is especially forbidden by saintly persons, who follow the path of devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. PURPORT The words sādhūnāṁ hṛṣīkeśānuvartinām are very significant. Sādhu means “a saintly person.” But who is a saintly person? A saintly person is he who follows the path of rendering service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hṛṣīkeśa. In the Nārada-pañcarātra it is said, hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate: [Cc. Madhya 19.170] the process of rendering favorable service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead with one’s senses is called bhakti, or devotional service. Therefore, why should a person who is already engaged in the service of the Lord engage himself in personal sense gratification? Dhruva Mahārāja is advised here by Lord Manu that he is a pure servitor of the Lord. Why should he unnecessarily engage, like the animals, in the bodily concept of life? An animal thinks that the body of another animal is his food; therefore, in the bodily concept of life, one animal attacks another. A human being, especially one who is a devotee of the Lord, should not act like this. A sādhu, a saintly devotee, is not supposed to kill animals unnecessarily. |
>aUTaE" PaÄi>ararBDaEYaaeRizTPauåz Wv ih ) TaYaaeVYaRvaYaaTSaM>aUiTaYaaeRizTPauåzYaaeirh )) 15 )) bhūtaiḥ pañcabhir ārabdhair yoṣit puruṣa eva hi tayor vyavāyāt sambhūtir yoṣit-puruṣayor iha SYNONYMS bhūtaiḥ—by the material elements; pañcabhiḥ—five; ārabdhaiḥ—developed; yoṣit—woman; puruṣaḥ—man; eva—just so; hi—certainly; tayoḥ—of them; vyavāyāt—by sexual life; sambhūtiḥ—the further creation; yoṣit—of women; puruṣayoḥ—and of men; iha—in this material world. TRANSLATION The creation of the material world begins with the five elements, and thus everything, including the body of a man or a woman, is created of these elements. By the sexual life of man and woman, the number of men and women in this material world is further increased. PURPORT When Svāyambhuva Manu saw that Dhruva Mahārāja understood the philosophy of Vaiṣṇavism and yet was still dissatisfied because of his brother’s death, he gave him an explanation of how this material body is created by the five elements of material nature. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is also confirmed, prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni: everything is created, maintained and annihilated by the material modes of nature. In the background, of course, there is the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (mayādhyakṣeṇa [Bg. 9.10]). In the Ninth Chapter, Kṛṣṇa says, “Under My superintendence material nature is acting.” Svāyambhuva Manu wanted to impress on Dhruva Mahārāja that the death of the material body of his brother was not actually the Yakṣas’ fault; it was an act of the material nature. The Supreme Personality of Godhead has immense varieties of potencies, and they act in different gross and subtle ways. It is by such powerful potencies that the universe is created, although grossly it appears to be no more than the five elements—earth, water, fire, air and ether. Similarly, the bodies of all species of living entities, whether human beings or demigods, animals or birds, are also created by the same five elements, and by sexual union they expand into more and more living entities. That is the way of creation, maintenance and annihilation. One should not be disturbed by the waves of material nature in this process. Dhruva Mahārāja was indirectly advised not to be afflicted by the death of his brother because our relationship with the body is completely material. The real self, spirit soul, is never annihilated or killed by anyone. |
TEXT 21 AaYauzae_PacYa& JaNTaaeSTaQaEvaePacYa& iv>au" ) o>aa>Yaa& rihTa" SvSQaae du"SQaSYa ivdDaaTYaSaaE )) 21 )) āyuṣo ’pacayaṁ jantos tathaivopacayaṁ vibhuḥ ubhābhyāṁ rahitaḥ sva-stho duḥsthasya vidadhāty asau SYNONYMS āyuṣaḥ—of duration of life; apacayam—diminution; jantoḥ—of the living entities; tathā—similarly; eva—also; upacayam—increase; vibhuḥ—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; ubhābhyām—from both of them; rahitaḥ—free; sva-sthaḥ—always situated in His transcendental position; duḥsthasya—of the living entities under the laws of karma; vidadhāti—awards; asau—He. TRANSLATION The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, is all-powerful, and He awards the results of one’s fruitive activities. Thus, although one living entity’s duration of life is very small whereas that of another is very great, He is always in His transcendental position, and there is no question of lessening or increasing His duration of life. PURPORT Both the mosquito and Lord Brahmā are living entities in the material world; both are minute sparks and are part of the Supreme Lord. The very short duration of the life of the mosquito and the very long lifetime of Lord Brahmā are both awarded by the Supreme Personality of Godhead according to the results of their karma. But in the Brahma-saṁhitā we find it said, karmāṇi nirdahati: the Lord diminishes or vanquishes the reactions of devotees. The same fact is explained in Bhagavad-gītā Yajñārthāt karmaṇo ’nyatra: one should perform karma only for the purpose of satisfying the Supreme Lord, otherwise one is bound by the action and reaction of karma. Under the laws of karma a living entity wanders within the universe under the rule of eternal time, and sometimes he becomes a mosquito and sometimes Lord Brahmā. To a sane man this business is not very fruitful. Bhagavad-gītā (9.25) gives a warning to the living entities: yānti deva-vratā devān—those who are addicted to the worship of the demigods go to the planets of the demigods, and those who are addicted to worship of the Pitās, forefathers, go to the Pitās. Those who are inclined to material activities remain in the material sphere. But persons who engage in devotional service reach the abode of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, where there is neither birth nor death nor different varieties of life under the influence of the law of karma. The best interest of the living entity is to engage himself in devotional service and go back home, back to Godhead. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura advised: “My friend, you are being washed away in material nature’s waves of time. Please try to understand that you are the eternal servant of the Lord. Then everything will stop, and you will be eternally happy.” |
TEXT 26 Wz >aUTaaiNa >aUTaaTMaa >aUTaeXaae >aUTa>aavNa" ) SvXa¢-ya MaaYaYaa Yau¢-" Sa*JaTYaita c PaaiTa c )) 26 )) eṣa bhūtāni bhūtātmā bhūteśo bhūta-bhāvanaḥ sva-śaktyā māyayā yuktaḥ sṛjaty atti ca pāti ca SYNONYMS eṣaḥ—this; bhūtāni—all created beings; bhūta-ātmā—the Supersoul of all living entities; bhūta-īśaḥ—the controller of everyone; bhūta-bhāvanaḥ—the maintainer of everyone; sva-śaktyā—through His energy; māyayā—the external energy; yuktaḥ—through such agency; sṛjati—creates; atti—annihilates; ca—and; pāti—maintains; ca—and. TRANSLATION The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the Supersoul of all living entities. He is the controller and maintainer of everyone; through the agency of His external energy, He creates, maintains and annihilates everyone. PURPORT There are two kinds of energies in the matter of creation. The Lord creates this material world through His external, material energy, whereas the spiritual world is a manifestation of His internal energy. He is always associated with the internal energy, but He is always aloof from the material energy. Therefore in Bhagavad-gītā (9.4) the Lord says, mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni na cāhaṁ teṣv avasthitaḥ: “All living entities are living on Me or on My energy, but I am not everywhere.” He is personally always situated in the spiritual world. In the material world also, wherever the Supreme Lord is personally present is to be understood as being the spiritual world. For example, the Lord is worshiped in the temple by pure devotees. The temple is therefore to be understood as being the spiritual world. |
TEXT 29 TaMaeNaMa(r)aTMaiNa Mau¢-ivGa]he VYaPaaié[Ta& iNaGauR<aMaek-Ma+arMa( ) AaTMaaNaMaiNvC^ ivMau¢-MaaTMad*Ga( YaiSMaiàd& >aedMaSaTPa[TaqYaTae )) 29 )) tam enam aṅgātmani mukta-vigrahe vyapāśritaṁ nirguṇam ekam akṣaram ātmānam anviccha vimuktam ātma-dṛg yasminn idaṁ bhedam asat pratīyate SYNONYMS tam—Him; enam—that; aṅga—my dear Dhruva; ātmani—in the mind; mukta-vigrahe—free from anger; vyapāśritam—situated; nirguṇam—transcendental; ekam—one; akṣaram—the infallible Brahman; ātmānam—the self; anviccha—try to find out; vimuktam—uncontaminated; ātma-dṛk—facing towards the Supersoul; yasmin—in which; idam—this; bhedam—differentiation; asat—unreal; pratīyate—appears to be. TRANSLATION My dear Dhruva, please, therefore, turn your attention to the Supreme Person, who is the infallible Brahman. Face the Supreme Personality of Godhead in your original position, and thus, by self-realization, you will find this material differentiation to be merely flickering. PURPORT The living entities have three kinds of vision, according to their positions in self-realization. According to the bodily concept of life, one sees differentiation in terms of varieties of bodies. The living entity actually passes through many varieties of material forms, but despite all such changes of body, he is eternal. When living entities, therefore, are viewed in the bodily concept of life, one appears to be different from another. Lord Manu wanted to change the vision of Dhruva Mahārāja, who was looking upon the Yakṣas as different from him or as his enemies. Factually no one is an enemy or a friend. Everyone is passing through different types of bodies under the law of karma, but as soon as one is situated in his spiritual identity, he does not see differentiation in terms of this law. In other words, as stated in Bhagavad-gītā (18.54): brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām A devotee, who is already liberated, does not see differentiation in terms of the outward body; he sees all living entities as spirit souls, eternal servants of the Lord. Dhruva Mahārāja was advised by Lord Manu to see with that vision. He was specifically advised to do so because he was a great devotee and should not have looked upon other living entities with ordinary vision. Indirectly Manu pointed out to Dhruva Mahārāja that out of material affection Dhruva thought of his brother as his kin and the Yakṣas as his enemies. Such observation of differentiation subsides as soon as one is situated in his original position as an eternal servant of the Lord. |
TEXT 6 >aJaSv >aJaNaqYaax(iga]Ma>avaYa >aviC^dMa( ) Yau¢&- ivrihTa& Xa¢-ya Gau<aMaYYaaTMaMaaYaYaa )) 6 )) bhajasva bhajanīyāṅghrim abhavāya bhava-cchidam yuktaṁ virahitaṁ śaktyā guṇa-mayyātma-māyayā SYNONYMS bhajasva—engage in devotional service; bhajanīya—worthy to be worshiped; aṅghrim—unto Him whose lotus feet; abhavāya—for deliverance from material existence; bhava-chidam—who cuts the knot of material entanglement; yuktam—attached; virahitam—aloof; śaktyā—to His potency; guṇa-mayyā—consisting of the modes of material nature; ātma-māyayā—by His inconceivable potency. TRANSLATION Engage yourself fully, therefore, in the devotional service of the Lord, for only He can deliver us from this entanglement of materialistic existence. Although the Lord is attached to His material potency, He is aloof from her activities. Everything in this material world is happening by the inconceivable potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. PURPORT In continuation of the previous verse, it is specifically mentioned here that Dhruva Mahārāja should engage himself in devotional service. Devotional service cannot be rendered to the impersonal Brahman feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Whenever the word bhajasva appears, meaning “engage yourself in devotional service,” there must be the servant, service and the served. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is served, the mode of activities to please Him is called service, and one who renders such service is called the servant. Another significant feature in this verse is that only the Lord, and no one else, is to be served. That is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja). There is no need to serve the demigods, who are just like the hands and legs of the Supreme Lord. When the Supreme Lord is served, the hands and legs of the Supreme Lord are automatically served. There is no need of separate service. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (12.7), teṣām ahaṁ samuddhartā mṛtyu-saṁsāra-sāgarāt. This means that the Lord, in order to show specific favor to the devotee, directs the devotee from within in such a way that ultimately he is delivered from the entanglement of material existence. No one but the Supreme Lord can help the living entity be delivered from the entanglement of this material world. The material energy is a manifestation of one of the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s varieties of potencies (parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate). This material energy is one of the Lord’s potencies, as much as heat and light are potencies of fire. The material energy is not different from the Supreme Godhead, but at the same time He has nothing to do with the material energy. The living entity, who is of the marginal energy, is entrapped by the material energy on the basis of his desire to lord it over the material world. The Lord is aloof from this, but when the same living entity engages himself in the devotional service of the Lord, then he becomes attached to this service. This situation is called yuktam. For devotees the Lord is present even in the material energy. This is the inconceivable potency of the Lord. Material energy acts in the three modes of material qualities, which produce the action and reaction of material existence. Those who are not devotees become involved in such activities, whereas devotees, who are dovetailed with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, are freed from such action and reaction of the material energy. The Lord is therefore described herewith as bhava-cchidam, one who can give deliverance from the entanglement of material existence. |
AQaaYaJaTa YajeXa& §-Taui>a>aURirdi+a<aE" ) d]VYai§-YaadevTaaNaa& k-MaR k-MaRf-l/Pa[dMa( )) 10 )) athāyajata yajñeśaṁ kratubhir bhūri-dakṣiṇaiḥ dravya-kriyā-devatānāṁ karma karma-phala-pradam SYNONYMS atha—thereafter; ayajata—he worshiped; yajña-īśam—the master of sacrifices; kratubhiḥ—by sacrificial ceremonies; bhūri—great; dakṣiṇaiḥ—by charities; dravya-kriyā-devatānām—of (sacrifices including various) paraphernalia, activities and demigods; karma—the objective; karma-phala—the result of activities; pradam—who awards. TRANSLATION As long as he remained at home, Dhruva Mahārāja performed many great ceremonial sacrifices in order to please the enjoyer of all sacrifices, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Prescribed ceremonial sacrifices are especially meant to please Lord Viṣṇu, who is the objective of all such sacrifices and who awards the resultant benedictions. PURPORT In Bhagavad-gītā (3.9) it is said, yajñārthāt karmaṇo ’nyatra loko ’yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ: one should act or work only in order to please the Supreme Lord, otherwise one becomes entangled in the resultant reactions. According to the four divisions of varṇa and āśrama, kṣatriyas and vaiśyas are especially advised to perform great ceremonial sacrifices and to distribute their accumulated money very liberally. Dhruva Mahārāja, as a king and ideal kṣatriya, performed many such sacrifices, giving very liberally in charity. Kṣatriyas and vaiśyas are supposed to earn their money and accumulate great riches. Sometimes they do it by acting sinfully. Kṣatriyas are meant to rule over a country; Dhruva Mahārāja, for example, in the course of ruling, had to fight and kill many Yakṣas. Such action is necessary for kṣatriyas. A kṣatriya should not be a coward, and he should not be nonviolent; to rule over the country he has to act violently. Kṣatriyas and vaiśyas are therefore especially advised to give in charity at least fifty percent of their accumulated wealth. In Bhagavad-gītā it is recommended that even though one enters the renounced order of life, he still cannot give up the performance of yajña, dāna and tapasya. They are never to be given up. Tapasya is meant for the renounced order of life; those who are retired from worldly activities should perform tapasya, penances and austerities. Those who are in the material world, the kṣatriyas and vaiśyas, must give charity. Brahmacārīs, in the beginning of their lives, should perform different kinds of yajñas. Dhruva Mahārāja, as an ideal king, practically emptied his treasury by giving charity. A king is not meant simply to realize taxes from the citizens and accumulate wealth to spend in sense gratification. World monarchy has failed ever since kings began to satisfy their personal senses with the taxes accumulated from the citizens. Of course, whether the system is monarchy or democracy, the same corruption is still going on. At the present moment there are different parties in the democratic government, but everyone is busy trying to keep his post or trying to keep his political party in power. The politicians have very little time to think of the welfare of the citizens, whom they oppress with heavy taxes in the form of income tax, sales tax and many other taxes—people sometimes have eighty to ninety percent of their income taken away, and these taxes are lavishly spent for the high salaries drawn by the officers and rulers. Formerly, the taxes accumulated from the citizens were spent for performing great sacrifices as enjoined in the Vedic literature. At the present moment, however, almost all forms of sacrifice are not at all possible; therefore, it is recommended in the śāstras that people should perform saṅkīrtana-yajña. Any householder, regardless of his position, can perform this saṅkīrtana-yajña without expenditure. All the family members can sit down together and simply clap their hands and chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. Somehow or other, everyone can manage to perform such a yajña and distribute prasāda to the people in general. That is quite sufficient for this age of Kali. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is based on this principle: chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra at every moment, as much as possible, both inside and outside of the temples, and, as far as possible, distribute prasāda. This process can be accelerated with the cooperation of state administrators and those who are producing the country’s wealth. Simply by liberal distribution of prasāda and saṅkīrtana, the whole world can become peaceful and prosperous. Generally in all the material sacrifices recommended in the Vedic literature there are offerings to the demigods. This demigod worship is especially meant for less intelligent men. Actually, the result of such sacrifice goes to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa. Lord Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (5.29), bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasām: He is actually the enjoyer of all sacrifices. His name, therefore, is Yajña-puruṣa. Although Dhruva Mahārāja was a great devotee and had nothing to do with these sacrifices, to set an example to his people he performed many sacrifices and gave all his wealth in charity. For as long as he lived as a householder, he never spent a farthing for his sense gratification. In this verse the word karma-phala-pradam is very significant. The Lord awards everyone different kinds of karma as the individual living entities desire; He is the Supersoul present within the heart of everyone, and He is so kind and liberal that He gives everyone full facilities to perform whatever acts one wants. Then the result of the action is also enjoyed by the living entity. If anyone wants to enjoy or lord it over material nature, the Lord gives him full facilities, but he becomes entangled in the resultant reactions. Similarly, if anyone wants to engage himself fully in devotional service, the Lord gives him full facilities, and the devotee enjoys the results. The Lord is therefore known as karma-phala-prada. |
TEXT 11 SavaRTMaNYaCYauTae_SaveR Taqv]aEgaa& >ai¢-MauÜhNa( ) ddXaaRTMaiNa >aUTaezu TaMaevaviSQaTa& iv>auMa( )) 11 )) sarvātmany acyute ’sarve tīvraughāṁ bhaktim udvahan dadarśātmani bhūteṣu tam evāvasthitaṁ vibhum SYNONYMS sarva-ātmani—unto the Supersoul; acyute—infallible; asarve—without any limit; tīvra-oghām—with unrelenting force; bhaktim—devotional service; udvahan—rendering; dadarśa—he saw; ātmani—in the Supreme Spirit; bhūteṣu—in all living entities; tam—Him; eva—only; avasthitam—situated; vibhum—all-powerful. TRANSLATION Dhruva Mahārāja rendered devotional service unto the Supreme, the reservoir of everything, with unrelenting force. While carrying out his devotional service to the Lord, he could see that everything is situated in Him only and that He is situated in all living entities. The Lord is called Acyuta because He never fails in His prime duty, to give protection to His devotees. PURPORT Not only did Dhruva Mahārāja perform many sacrifices, but he carried on his transcendental occupation of engagement in the devotional service of the Lord. The ordinary karmīs, who want to enjoy the results of fruitive activities, are concerned only with sacrifices and ritualistic ceremonies as enjoined in the Vedic śāstras. Although Dhruva Mahārāja performed many sacrifices in order to be an exemplary king, he was constantly engaged in devotional service. The Lord always protects His surrendered devotee. A devotee can see that the Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, as stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe ’rjuna tiṣṭhati [Bg. 18.61]). Ordinary persons cannot understand how the Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, but a devotee can actually see Him. Not only can the devotee see Him outwardly, but he can see, with spiritual vision, that everything is resting in the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as described in Bhagavad-gītā (mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni). That is the vision of a mahā-bhāgavata. He sees everything others see, but instead of seeing merely the trees, the mountains, the cities or the sky, he sees only his worshipable Supreme Personality of Godhead in everything because everything is resting in Him only. This is the vision of the mahā-bhāgavata. In summary, a mahā-bhāgavata, a highly elevated pure devotee, sees the Lord everywhere, as well as within the heart of everyone. This is possible for devotees who have developed elevated devotional service to the Lord. As stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.38), premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena: only those who have smeared their eyes with the ointment of love of Godhead can see everywhere the Supreme Lord face to face; it is not possible by imagination or so-called meditation. |
TEXT 26 ANaaiSQaTa& Tae iPaTa*i>arNYaErPYa(r) k-ihRicTa( ) AaiTaï JaGaTaa& vNÛ& TaiÜZ<aae" ParMa& PadMa( )) 26 )) anāsthitaṁ te pitṛbhir anyair apy aṅga karhicit ātiṣṭha jagatāṁ vandyaṁ tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padam SYNONYMS anāsthitam—never achieved; te—your; pitṛbhiḥ—by forefathers; anyaiḥ—by others; api—even; aṅga—O Dhruva; karhicit—at any time; ātiṣṭha—please come and live there; jagatām—by the inhabitants of the universe; vandyam—worshipable; tat—that; viṣṇoḥ—of Lord Viṣṇu; paramam—supreme; padam—situation. TRANSLATION Dear King Dhruva, neither your forefathers nor anyone else before you ever achieved such a transcendental planet. The planet known as Viṣṇuloka, where Lord Viṣṇu personally resides, is the highest of all. It is worshipable by the inhabitants of all other planets within the universe. Please come with us and live there eternally. PURPORT When Dhruva Mahārāja went to perform austerities, he was very determined to achieve a post never dreamed of by his forefathers. His father was Uttānapāda, his grandfather was Manu, and his great-grandfather was Lord Brahmā. So Dhruva wanted a kingdom even greater than Lord Brahmā could achieve, and he requested Nārada Muni to give him facility for achieving it. The associates of Lord Viṣṇu reminded him that not only his forefathers but everyone else before him was unable to attain Viṣṇuloka, the planet where Lord Viṣṇu resides. This is because everyone within this material world is either a karmī, a jñānī or a yogī, but there are hardly any pure devotees. The transcendental planet known as Viṣṇuloka is especially meant for devotees, not for karmīs, jñānīs or yogīs. Great ṛṣis or demigods can hardly approach Brahmaloka, and as stated in Bhagavad-gītā, Brahmaloka is not a permanent residence. Lord Brahmā’s duration of life is so long that it is difficult to estimate even the duration of one day in his life, and yet Lord Brahmā also dies, as do the residents of his planet. Bhagavad-gītā (8.16) says, ābrahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino ’rjuna: except for those who go to Viṣṇuloka, everyone is subjected to the four principles of material life, namely birth, death, old age and disease. The Lord says, yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama: “The planet from which, once going, no one returns, is My supreme abode.” (Bg. 15.6) Dhruva Mahārāja was reminded, “You are going in our company to that planet from which no one returns to this material world.” Material scientists are attempting to go to the moon and other planets, but they cannot imagine going to the topmost planet, Brahmaloka, for it is beyond their imagination. By material calculation, traveling at the speed of light it would take forty thousand light-years to reach the topmost planet. By mechanical processes we are unable to reach the topmost planet of this universe, but the process called bhakti-yoga, as executed by Mahārāja Dhruva, can give one the facility not only to reach other planets within this universe, but also to reach beyond this universe to the Viṣṇuloka planets. We have outlined this in our small booklet Easy Journey to Other Planets. |
TEXT 27 WTaiÜMaaNaPa[vrMautaMaëaek-MaaEil/Naa ) oPaSQaaiPaTaMaaYauZMaàiDarae!u& TvMahRiSa )) 27 )) etad vimāna-pravaram uttamaśloka-maulinā upasthāpitam āyuṣmann adhiroḍhuṁ tvam arhasi SYNONYMS etat—this; vimāna—airplane; pravaram—unique; uttamaśloka—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; maulinā—by the head of all living entities; upasthāpitam—sent; āyuṣman—O immortal one; adhiroḍhum—to board; tvam—you; arhasi—are worthy. TRANSLATION O immortal one, this unique airplane has been sent by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is worshiped by selected prayers and who is the chief of all living entities. You are quite worthy to board such a plane. PURPORT According to astronomical calculation, along with the polestar there is another star, which is called Śiśumāra, where Lord Viṣṇu, who is in charge of the maintenance of this material world, resides. Śiśumāra or Dhruvaloka can never be reached by anyone but the Vaiṣṇavas, as will be described by the following ślokas. The associates of Lord Viṣṇu brought the special airplane for Dhruva Mahārāja and then informed him that Lord Viṣṇu had especially sent this airplane. The Vaikuṇṭha airplane does not move by mechanical arrangement. There are three processes for moving in outer space. One of the processes is known to the modern scientist. It is called ka-pota-vāyu. Ka means “outer space,” and pota means “ship.” There is a second process also called kapota-vāyu. Kapota means “pigeon.” One can train pigeons to carry one into outer space. The third process is very subtle. It is called ākāśa-patana. This ākāśa-patana system is also material. Just as the mind can fly anywhere one likes without mechanical arrangement, so the ākāśa-patana airplane can fly at the speed of mind. Beyond this ākāśa-patana system is the Vaikuṇṭha process, which is completely spiritual. The airplane sent by Lord Viṣṇu to carry Dhruva Mahārāja to Śiśumāra was a completely spiritual, transcendental airplane. Material scientists can neither see such vehicles nor imagine how they fly in the air. The material scientist has no information about the spiritual sky, although it is mentioned in the Bhagavad-gītā (paras tasmāt tu bhāvo ’nyaḥ [Bg. 8.20]). |
TEXT 35 i}al/aek-I& devYaaNaeNa Saae_iTav]JYa MauNaqNaiPa ) ParSTaaÛd( Da]uvGaiTaivRZ<aae" PadMaQaa>YaGaaTa( )) 35 )) tri-lokīṁ deva-yānena so ’tivrajya munīn api parastād yad dhruva-gatir viṣṇoḥ padam athābhyagāt SYNONYMS tri-lokīm—the three planetary systems; deva-yānena—by the transcendental airplane; saḥ—Dhruva; ativrajya—having surpassed; munīn—great sages; api—even; parastāt—beyond; yat—which; dhruva-gatiḥ—Dhruva, who attained permanent life; viṣṇoḥ—of Lord Viṣṇu; padam—abode; atha—then; abhyagāt—achieved. TRANSLATION Dhruva Mahārāja thus surpassed the seven planetary systems of the great sages who are known as saptarṣi. Beyond that region, he achieved the transcendental situation of permanent life in the planet where Lord Viṣṇu lives. PURPORT The airplane was piloted by the two chief associates of Lord Viṣṇu, namely Sunanda and Nanda. Only such spiritual astronauts can pilot their airplane beyond the seven planets and arrive in the region of eternal blissful life. It is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā also (paras tasmāt tu bhāvo ’nyaḥ [Bg. 8.20]) that beyond this planetary system begins the spiritual sky, where everything is permanent and blissful. The planets there are known as Viṣṇuloka or Vaikuṇṭhaloka. Only there can one get an eternal blissful life of knowledge. Below Vaikuṇṭhaloka is the material universe, where Lord Brahmā and others in Brahmaloka can live until the annihilation of this universe; but that life is not permanent. That is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (ābrahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ). Even if one goes to the topmost planet, one cannot achieve eternal life. Only by arriving in Vaikuṇṭhaloka can one live an eternally blissful life. |
TEXT 36 Yad( >a]aJaMaaNa& SvåcEv SavRTaae l/aek-añYaae ùNau iv>a]aJaNTa WTae ) Yaàav]JaÅNTauzu Yae_NaNauGa]ha v]JaiNTa >ad]ai<a criNTa Yae_iNaXaMa( )) 36 )) yad bhrājamānaṁ sva-rucaiva sarvato lokās trayo hy anu vibhrājanta ete yan nāvrajañ jantuṣu ye ’nanugrahā vrajanti bhadrāṇi caranti ye ’niśam SYNONYMS yat—which planet; bhrājamānam—illuminating; sva-rucā—by self-effulgence; eva—only; sarvataḥ—everywhere; lokāḥ—planetary systems; trayaḥ—three; hi—certainly; anu—thereupon; vibhrājante—give off light; ete—these; yat—which planet; na—not; avrajan—have reached; jantuṣu—to living entities; ye—those who; ananugrahāḥ—not merciful; vrajanti—reach; bhadrāṇi—welfare activities; caranti—engage in; ye—those who; aniśam—constantly. TRANSLATION The self-effulgent Vaikuṇṭha planets, by whose illumination alone all the illuminating planets within this material world give off reflected light, cannot be reached by those who are not merciful to other living entities. Only persons who constantly engage in welfare activities for other living entities can reach the Vaikuṇṭha planets. PURPORT Here is a description of two aspects of the Vaikuṇṭha planets. The first is that in the Vaikuṇṭha sky there is no need of the sun and moon. This is confirmed by the Upaniṣads as well as Bhagavad-gītā (na tad bhāsayate sūryo na śaśāṅko na pāvakaḥ [Bg. 15.6]). In the spiritual world the Vaikuṇṭhalokas are themselves illuminated; there is therefore no need of sun, moon or electric light. It is in fact the illumination of the Vaikuṇṭhalokas which is reflected in the material sky. Only by this reflection are the suns in the material universes illuminated; after the illumination of the sun, all the stars and moons are illuminated. In other words, all the luminaries in the material sky borrow illumination from Vaikuṇṭhaloka. From this material world, however, people can be transferred to the Vaikuṇṭhaloka, if they incessantly engage in welfare activities for all other living entities. Such incessant welfare activities can really be performed only in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. There is no philanthropic work within this material world but Kṛṣṇa consciousness that can engage a person twenty-four hours a day. A Kṛṣṇa conscious being is always engaged in planning how to take all of suffering humanity back home, back to Godhead. Even if one is not successful in reclaiming all the fallen souls back to Godhead, still, because he is Kṛṣṇa conscious, his path to Vaikuṇṭhaloka is open. He personally becomes qualified to enter the Vaikuṇṭhalokas, and if anyone follows such a devotee, he also enters into Vaikuṇṭhaloka. Others, who engage in envious activities, are known as karmīs. Karmīs are envious of one another. Simply for sense gratification, they can kill thousands of innocent animals. Jñānīs are not as sinful as karmīs, but they do not try to reclaim others back to Godhead. They perform austerities for their own liberation. Yogīs are also engaged in self-aggrandizement by trying to attain mystic powers. But devotees, Vaiṣṇavas, who are servants of the Lord, come forward in the actual field of work in Kṛṣṇa consciousness to reclaim fallen souls. Only Kṛṣṇa conscious persons are eligible to enter into the spiritual world. That is clearly stated in this verse and is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā, wherein the Lord says that there is no one dearer to Him than those who preach the gospel of Bhagavad-gītā to the world. |
TEXT 4 SvDaMaRXaqlE/" PauåzE>aRGavaNa( YajPaUåz" ) wJYaMaaNaae >ai¢-MaTaa NaardeNaeirTa" ik-l/ )) 4 )) sva-dharma-śīlaiḥ puruṣair bhagavān yajña-pūruṣaḥ ijyamāno bhaktimatā nāradeneritaḥ kila SYNONYMS sva-dharma-śīlaiḥ—executing sacrificial duties; puruṣaiḥ—by the men; bhagavān—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; yajña-pūruṣaḥ—the enjoyer of all sacrifices; ijyamānaḥ—being worshiped; bhaktimatā—by the devotee; nāradena—by Nārada; īritaḥ—described; kila—indeed. TRANSLATION While all the Pracetās were executing religious rituals and sacrificial ceremonies and thus worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead for His satisfaction, the great sage Nārada described the transcendental qualities of Dhruva Mahārāja. PURPORT Nārada Muni is always glorifying the pastimes of the Lord. In this verse we see that not only does he glorify the Lord, but he also likes to glorify the devotees of the Lord. The great sage Nārada’s mission is to broadcast the devotional service of the Lord. For this purpose he has compiled the Nārada-pañcarātra, a directory of devotional service, so that devotees can always take information about how to execute devotional service and thus engage twenty-four hours a day in performing sacrifices for the pleasure of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, the Lord has created four orders of social life, namely brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra. In the Nārada-pañcarātra it is very clearly described how each of the social orders can please the Supreme Lord. In the Bhagavad-gītā (18.45) it is stated, sve sve karmaṇy abhirataḥ saṁsiddhiṁ labhate naraḥ: by executing one’s prescribed duties one can please the Supreme Lord. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.13) also it is stated, svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam: the perfection of duty is to see that by discharging one’s specific duties one satisfies the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When the Pracetās were performing sacrifices according to this direction, Nārada Muni was satisfied to see these activities, and he also wanted to glorify Dhruva Mahārāja in that sacrificial arena. |
TEXT 7 Sa JaNMaNaaePaXaaNTaaTMaa iNa"Sa(r)" SaMadXaRNa" ) ddXaR l/aeke- ivTaTaMaaTMaaNa& l/aek-MaaTMaiNa )) 7 )) sa janmanopaśāntātmā niḥsaṅgaḥ sama-darśanaḥ dadarśa loke vitatam ātmānaṁ lokam ātmani SYNONYMS saḥ—his son Utkala; janmanā—from the very beginning of his birth; upaśānta—very well satisfied; ātmā—soul; niḥsaṅgaḥ—without attachment; sama-darśanaḥ—equipoised; dadarśa—saw; loke—in the world; vitatam—spread; ātmānam—the Supersoul; lokam—all the world; ātmani—in the Supersoul. TRANSLATION From his very birth, Utkala was fully satisfied and unattached to the world. He was equipoised, for he could see everything resting in the Supersoul and the Supersoul present in everyone’s heart. PURPORT The symptoms and characteristics of Utkala, the son of Mahārāja Dhruva, are those of a mahā-bhāgavata. As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (6.30), yo māṁ paśyati sarvatra sarvaṁ ca mayi paśyati: a highly advanced devotee sees the Supreme Personality of Godhead everywhere, and he also sees everything resting in the Supreme. It is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.4), mayā tatam idaṁ sarvaṁ jagad avyakta-mūrtinā: Lord Kṛṣṇa is spread all over the universe in His impersonal feature. Everything is resting on Him, but that does not mean that everything is He Himself. A highly advanced mahā-bhāgavata devotee sees in this spirit: he sees the same Supersoul, Paramātmā, existing within everyone’s heart, regardless of discrimination based on the different material forms of the living entities. He sees everyone as part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The mahā-bhāgavata, who experiences the Supreme Godhead’s presence everywhere, is never missing from the sight of the Supreme Lord, nor is the Supreme Lord ever lost from his sight. This is possible only when one is advanced in love of Godhead. |
TEXTS 8–9 AaTMaaNa& b]ø iNavaR<a& Pa[TYaSTaiMaTaivGa]hMa( ) AvbaeDarSaEk-aTMYaMaaNaNdMaNauSaNTaTaMa( )) 8 )) AVYaviC^àYaaeGaaiGandGDak-MaRMal/aXaYa" ) SvæPaMavåNDaaNaae NaaTMaNaae_NYa& TadE+aTa )) 9 )) ātmānaṁ brahma nirvāṇaṁ pratyastamita-vigraham avabodha-rasaikātmyam ānandam anusantatam avyavacchinna-yogāgni- dagdha-karma-malāśayaḥ svarūpam avarundhāno nātmano ’nyaṁ tadaikṣata SYNONYMS ātmānam—self; brahma—spirit; nirvāṇam—extinction of material existence; pratyastamita—ceased; vigraham—separation; avabodha-rasa—by the mellow of knowledge; eka-ātmyam—oneness; ānandam—bliss; anusantatam—expanded; avyavacchinna—continuous; yoga—by practice of yoga; agni—by the fire; dagdha—burned; karma—fruitive desires; mala—dirty; āśayaḥ—in his mind; svarūpam—constitutional position; avarundhānaḥ—realizing; na—not; ātmanaḥ—than the Supreme Soul; anyam—anything else; tadā—then; aikṣata—saw. TRANSLATION By expansion of his knowledge of the Supreme Brahman, he had already attained liberation from the bondage of the body. This liberation is known as nirvāṇa. He was situated in transcendental bliss, and he continued always in that blissful existence, which expanded more and more. This was possible for him by continual practice of bhakti-yoga, which is compared to fire because it burns away all dirty, material things. He was always situated in his constitutional position of self-realization, and he could not see anything else but the Supreme Lord and himself engaged in discharging devotional service. PURPORT These two verses explain the verse in the Bhagavad-gītā (18.54): brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām “One who is transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman and becomes fully joyful. He never laments nor desires to have anything. He is equally disposed towards every living entity. In that state he achieves pure devotional service unto Me.” This is also explained by Lord Caitanya in His Śikṣāṣṭaka in the beginning of the first verse: ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇaṁ śreyaḥ-kairava-candrikā-vitaraṇaṁ vidyā-vadhū-jīvanam [Cc. Antya 20.12] The bhakti-yoga system is the topmost yoga system, and in this system the chanting of the holy name of the Lord is the foremost performance of devotional service. By chanting the holy name one can attain the perfection of nirvāṇa, or liberation from material existence, and so increase one’s blissful life of spiritual existence as described by Lord Caitanya (ānandāmbudhi-vardhanam). When one is situated in that position, he no longer has any interest in material opulence or even a royal throne and sovereignty over the whole planet. This situation is called viraktir anyatra syāt. It is the result of devotional service. The more one makes advancement in devotional service, the more one becomes detached from material opulence and material activity. This is the spiritual nature, full of bliss. This is also described in Bhagavad-gītā (2.59). Paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate: one ceases to take part in material enjoyment upon tasting superior, blissful life in spiritual existence. By advancement in spiritual knowledge, which is considered to be like blazing fire, all material desires are burned to ashes. The perfection of mystic yoga is possible when one is continuously in connection with the Supreme Personality of Godhead by discharging devotional service. A devotee is always thinking of the Supreme Person at every step of his life. Every conditioned soul is full of the reactions of his past life, but all dirty things are immediately burned to ashes if one simply executes devotional service. This is described in the Nārada-pañcarātra: sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tat-paratvena nirmalam [Cc. Madhya 19.170]. |
TEXT 1 MaE}aeYa ovac >a*GvadYaSTae MauNaYaae l/aek-aNaa& +aeMadiXaRNa" ) GaaeáYaRSaiTa vE Na›<aa& PaXYaNTa" PaéuSaaMYaTaaMa( )) 1 )) maitreya uvāca bhṛgv-ādayas te munayo lokānāṁ kṣema-darśinaḥ goptary asati vai nṝṇāṁ paśyantaḥ paśu-sāmyatām SYNONYMS maitreyaḥ uvāca—the great sage Maitreya continued; bhṛgu-ādayaḥ—headed by Bhṛgu; te—all of them; munayaḥ—the great sages; lokānām—of the people; kṣema-darśinaḥ—who always aspire for the welfare; goptari—the King; asati—being absent; vai—certainly; nṝṇām—of all the citizens; paśyantaḥ—having understood; paśu-sāmyatām—existence on the level of the animals. TRANSLATION The great sage Maitreya continued: O great hero Vidura, the great sages, headed by Bhṛgu, were always thinking of the welfare of the people in general. When they saw that in the absence of King Aṅga there was no one to protect the interests of the people, they understood that without a ruler the people would become independent and nonregulated. PURPORT In this verse the significant word is kṣema-darśinaḥ, which refers to those who are always looking after the welfare of the people in general. All the great sages headed by Bhṛgu were always thinking of how to elevate all the people of the universe to the spiritual platform. Indeed, they advised the kings of every planet to rule the people with that ultimate goal of life in mind. The great sages used to advise the head of the state, or the king, and he used to rule the populace in accordance with their instruction. After the disappearance of King Aṅga, there was no one to follow the instructions of the great sages. Consequently all the citizens became unruly, so much so that they could be compared to animals. As described in Bhagavad-gītā (4.13), human society must be divided into four orders according to quality and work. In every society there must be an intelligent class, administrative class, productive class and worker class. In modern democracy these scientific divisions are turned topsy-turvy, and by vote śūdras, or workers, are chosen for administrative posts. Having no knowledge of the ultimate goal of life, such persons whimsically enact laws without knowledge of life’s purpose. The result is that no one is happy. |
TEXT 9 AraJak->aYaadez k*-Taae raJaaTadhR<a" ) TaTaae_PYaaSaqÙYa& TvÛ k-Qa& SYaaTSviSTa deihNaaMa( )) 9 )) arājaka-bhayād eṣa kṛto rājātad-arhaṇaḥ tato ’py āsīd bhayaṁ tv adya kathaṁ syāt svasti dehinām SYNONYMS arājaka—being without a king; bhayāt—out of fear; eṣaḥ—this Vena; kṛtaḥ—was made; rājā—the king; a-tat-arhaṇaḥ—though not qualified for it; tataḥ—from him; api—also; āsīt—there was; bhayam—danger; tu—then; adya—now; katham—how; syāt—can there be; svasti—happiness; dehinām—of the people in general. TRANSLATION Thinking to save the state from irregularity, the sages began to consider that it was due to a political crisis that they made Vena king although he was not qualified. But alas, now the people were being disturbed by the king himself. Under such circumstances, how could the people be happy? PURPORT In Bhagavad-gītā (18.5) it is stated that even in the renounced order one should not give up sacrifice, charity and penance. The brahmacārīs must perform sacrifices, the gṛhasthas must give in charity, and those in the renounced order of life (the vānaprasthas and sannyāsīs) must practice penance and austerities. These are the procedures by which everyone can be elevated to the spiritual platform. When the sages and saintly persons saw that King Vena had stopped all these functions, they became concerned about the people’s progress. Saintly people preach God consciousness, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, because they are anxious to save the general populace from the dangers of animalistic life. There must be a good government to see that the citizens are actually executing their religious rituals, and thieves and rogues must be curbed. When this is done, the people can advance peacefully in spiritual consciousness and make their lives successful. |
YaSYa raí\e Paure cEv >aGavaNa( YajPaUåz" ) wJYaTae SveNa DaMaeR<a JaNaEvR<aaRé[MaaiNvTaE" )) 18 )) yasya rāṣṭre pure caiva bhagavān yajña-pūruṣaḥ ijyate svena dharmeṇa janair varṇāśramānvitaiḥ SYNONYMS yasya—whose; rāṣṭre—in the state or kingdom; pure—in the cities; ca—also; eva—certainly; bhagavān—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; yajña-pūruṣaḥ—who is the enjoyer of all sacrifices; ijyate—is worshiped; svena—their own; dharmeṇa—by occupation; janaiḥ—by the people; varṇa-āśrama—the system of eight social orders; anvitaiḥ—who follow. TRANSLATION The king is supposed to be pious in whose state and cities the general populace strictly observes the system of eight social orders of varṇa and āśrama, and where all citizens engage in worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead by their particular occupations. PURPORT The state’s duty and the citizen’s duty are very nicely explained in this verse. The activities of the government head, or king, as well as the activities of the citizens, should be so directed that ultimately everyone engages in devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The king, or government head, is supposed to be the representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and is therefore supposed to see that things go on nicely and that the citizens are situated in the scientific social order comprised of four varṇas and four āśramas. In the Viṣṇu Purāṇa it is stated that unless people are educated or situated in the scientific social order comprised of four varṇas (brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra) and four āśramas (brahmacarya, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsa), society can never be considered real human society, nor can it make any advancement towards the ultimate goal of human life. It is the duty of the government to see that things go on in terms of varṇa and āśrama. As stated herein, bhagavān yajña-pūruṣaḥ—the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is the yajña-pūruṣa. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (5.29): bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasām. Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate purpose of all sacrifice. He is also the enjoyer of all sacrifices; therefore He is known as yajña-pūruṣa. The word yajña-pūruṣa indicates Lord Viṣṇu or Lord Kṛṣṇa, or any Personality of Godhead in the category of viṣṇu-tattva. In perfect human society, people are situated in the orders of varṇa and āśrama and are engaged in worshiping Lord Viṣṇu by their respective activities. Every citizen engaged in an occupation renders service by the resultant actions of his activities. That is the perfection of life. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (18.46): yataḥ pravṛttir bhūtānāṁ yena sarvam idaṁ tatam sva-karmaṇā tam abhyarcya siddhiṁ vindati mānavaḥ “By worship of the Lord, who is the source of all beings and who is all-pervading, man can, in the performance of his own duty, attain perfection.” Thus the brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, śūdras and vaiśyas must execute their prescribed duties as these duties are stated in the śāstras. In this way everyone can satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu. The king, or government head, has to see that the citizens are thus engaged. In other words, the state or the government must not deviate from its duty by declaring that the state is a secular one, which has no interest in whether or not the people advance in varṇāśrama-dharma. Today people engaged in government service and people who rule over the citizens have no respect for the varṇāśrama-dharma. They complacently feel that the state is secular. In such a government, no one can be happy. The people must follow the varṇāśrama-dharma, and the king must see that they are following it nicely. |
TEXT 37 vq+YaaeiTQaTaa&STadaeTPaaTaaNaahul/aeRk->aYaªraNa( ) APYa>ad]MaNaaQaaYaa dSYau>Yaae Na >aved(>auv" )) 37 )) vīkṣyotthitāṁs tadotpātān āhur loka-bhayaṅkarān apy abhadram anāthāyā dasyubhyo na bhaved bhuvaḥ SYNONYMS vīkṣya—having seen; utthitān—developed; tadā—then; utpātān—disturbances; āhuḥ—they began to say; loka—in society; bhayam-karān—causing panic; api—whether; abhadram—misfortune; anāthāyāḥ—having no ruler; dasyubhyaḥ—from thieves and rogues; na—not; bhavet—may happen; bhuvaḥ—of the world. TRANSLATION In those days there were various disturbances in the country that were creating a panic in society. Therefore all the sages began to talk amongst themselves: Since the King is dead and there is no protector in the world, misfortune may befall the people in general on account of rogues and thieves. PURPORT Whenever there is a disturbance in the state, or a panic situation, the property and lives of the citizens become unsafe. This is caused by the uprising of various thieves and rogues. At such a time it is to be understood that the ruler, or the government, is dead. All of these misfortunes happened due to the death of King Vena. Thus the saintly persons became very anxious for the safety of the people in general. The conclusion is that even though saintly persons have no business in political affairs, they are always compassionate upon the people in general. Thus even though they are always aloof from society, out of mercy and compassion they consider how the citizens can peacefully execute their rituals and follow the rules and regulations of varṇāśrama-dharma. That was the concern of these sages. In this age of Kali, everything is disturbed. Therefore saintly persons should take to the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, as recommended in the śāstras: harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā [Adi 17.21] Both for spiritual and material prosperity, everyone should devotedly chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. |
TEXT 46 TaSYa v&XYaaSTau NaEzada iGairk-aNaNaGaaecra" ) YaeNaahrÂaYaMaaNaae veNak-LMazMauLb<aMa( )) 46 )) tasya vaṁśyās tu naiṣādā giri-kānana-gocarāḥ yenāharaj jāyamāno vena-kalmaṣam ulbaṇam SYNONYMS tasya—his (Niṣāda’s); vaṁśyāḥ—descendants; tu—then; naiṣādāḥ—called Naiṣādas; giri-kānana—the hills and forests; gocarāḥ—inhabiting; yena—because; aharat—he took upon himself; jāyamānaḥ—being born; vena—of King Vena; kalmaṣam—all kinds of sin; ulbaṇam—very fearful. TRANSLATION After his [Niṣāda’s] birth, he immediately took charge of all the resultant actions of King Vena’s sinful activities. As such, this Naiṣāda class are always engaged in sinful activities like stealing, plundering and hunting. Consequently they are only allowed to live in the hills and forests. PURPORT The Naiṣādas are not allowed to live in cities and towns because they are sinful by nature. As such, their bodies are very ugly, and their occupations are also sinful. We should, however, know that even these sinful men (who are sometimes called Kirātas) can be delivered from their sinful condition to the topmost Vaiṣṇava platform by the mercy of a pure devotee. Engagement in the transcendental loving devotional service of the Lord can make anyone, however sinful he may be, fit to return home, back to Godhead. One has only to become free from all contamination by the process of devotional service. In this way everyone can become fit to return home, back to Godhead. This is confirmed by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gītā (9.32): māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya ye ’pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ striyo vaiśyās tathā śūdrās te ’pi yānti parāṁ gatim “O son of Pṛthā, those who take shelter of Me, though they be of lower birth—women, vaiśyas [merchants], as well as śūdras [workers]—can approach the supreme destination.” Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Fourth Canto, Fourteenth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “The Story of King Vena.” |
TEXT 5 Wz vE l/aek-Paal/aNaa& ib>aTYaeRk-STaNaaE TaNaU" ) k-ale/ k-ale/ YaQaa>aaGa& l/aek-Yaaeå>aYaaeihRTaMa( )) 5 )) eṣa vai loka-pālānāṁ bibharty ekas tanau tanūḥ kāle kāle yathā-bhāgaṁ lokayor ubhayor hitam SYNONYMS eṣaḥ—this King; vai—certainly; loka-pālānām—of all the demigods; bibharti—bears; ekaḥ—alone; tanau—in his body; tanūḥ—the bodies; kāle kāle—in due course of time; yathā—according to; bhāgam—proper share; lokayoḥ—of planetary systems; ubhayoḥ—both; hitam—welfare. TRANSLATION This King alone, in his own body, will be able in due course of time to maintain all living entities and keep them in a pleasant condition by manifesting himself as different demigods to perform various departmental activities. Thus he will maintain the upper planetary system by inducing the populace to perform Vedic sacrifices. In due course of time he will also maintain this earthly planet by discharging proper rainfall. PURPORT The demigods in charge of the various departmental activities that maintain this world are but assistants to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When an incarnation of Godhead descends on this planet, demigods like the sun-god, the moon-god or the King of heaven, Indra, all join Him. Consequently the incarnation of Godhead is able to act for the departmental demigods to keep the planetary systems in order. The protection of the earthly planet is dependent on proper rainfall, and as stated in Bhagavad-gītā and other scriptures, sacrifices are performed to please those demigods who are in charge of rainfall. annād bhavanti bhūtāni parjanyād anna-sambhavaḥ yajñād bhavati parjanyo yajñaḥ karma-samudbhavaḥ “All living bodies subsist on food grains, which are produced from rains. Rains are produced by performance of yajña [sacrifice], and yajña is born of prescribed duties.” (Bg. 3.14) Thus the proper execution of yajña, sacrifice, is required. As indicated herein, King Pṛthu alone would induce all the citizens to engage in such sacrificial activities so that there would not be scarcity or distress. In Kali-yuga, however, in the so-called secular state, the executive branch of government is in the charge of so-called kings and presidents who are all fools and rascals, ignorant of the intricacies of nature’s causes and ignorant of the principles of sacrifice. Such rascals simply make various plans, which always fail, and the people subsequently suffer disturbances. To counteract this situation, the śāstras advise: harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā [Adi 17.21] Thus in order to counteract this unfortunate situation in government, the general populace is advised to chant the mahā-mantra: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. |
MaaTa*>ai¢-" Parñqzu PaTNYaaMaDaR wvaTMaNa" ) Pa[JaaSau iPaTa*viTòGDa" ik-ªrae b]øvaidNaaMa( )) 17 )) mātṛ-bhaktiḥ para-strīṣu patnyām ardha ivātmanaḥ prajāsu pitṛvat snigdhaḥ kiṅkaro brahma-vādinām SYNONYMS mātṛ-bhaktiḥ—as respectful as one is to his mother; para-strīṣu—to other women; patnyām—to his own wife; ardhaḥ—half; iva—like; ātmanaḥ—of his body; prajāsu—unto the citizens; pitṛ-vat—like a father; snigdhaḥ—affectionate; kiṅkaraḥ—servant; brahma-vādinām—of the devotees who preach the glories of the Lord. TRANSLATION The King will respect all women as if they were his own mother, and he will treat his own wife as the other half of his body. He will be just like an affectionate father to his citizens, and he will treat himself as the most obedient servant of the devotees, who always preach the glories of the Lord. PURPORT A learned man treats all women except his wife as his mother, looks on others’ property as garbage in the street, and treats others as he would treat his own self. These are the symptoms of a learned person as described by Cāṇakya Paṇḍita. This should be the standard for education. Education does not mean having academic degrees only. One should execute what he has learned in his personal life. These learned characteristics were verily manifest in the life of King Pṛthu. Although he was the king, he treated himself as a servant of the Lord’s devotees. According to Vedic etiquette, if a devotee came to a king’s palace, the king would immediately offer his own seat to him. The word brahma-vādinām is very significant. Brahma-vādī refers to the devotees of the Lord. Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān are different terms for the Supreme Brahman, and the Supreme Brahman is Lord Kṛṣṇa. This is accepted in Bhagavad-gītā (10.12) by Arjuna (paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma). Thus the word brahma-vādinām refers to the devotees of the Lord. The state should always serve the devotees of the Lord, and the ideal state should conduct itself according to the instructions of the devotee. Because King Pṛthu followed this principle, he is highly praised. |
TEXT 19 AYa& Tau Saa+aaÙGava&S}YaDaqXa" kU-$=SQa AaTMaa k-l/YaavTaq<aR" ) YaiSMaàivÛaricTa& iNarQaRk&- PaXYaiNTa NaaNaaTvMaiPa Pa[TaqTaMa( )) 19 )) ayaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavāṁs try-adhīśaḥ kūṭa-stha ātmā kalayāvatīrṇaḥ yasminn avidyā-racitaṁ nirarthakaṁ paśyanti nānātvam api pratītam SYNONYMS ayam—this King; tu—then; sākṣāt—directly; bhagavān—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; tri-adhīśaḥ—the master of the three planetary systems; kūṭa-sthaḥ—without any change; ātmā—the Supersoul; kalayā—by a partial plenary expansion; avatīrṇaḥ—descended; yasmin—in whom; avidyā-racitam—created by nescience; nirarthakam—without meaning; paśyanti—they see; nānātvam—material variegatedness; api—certainly; pratītam—understood. TRANSLATION This King is the master of the three worlds, and he is directly empowered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is without change, and he is an incarnation of the Supreme known as a śaktyāveśa-avatāra. Being a liberated soul and completely learned, he sees all material varieties as meaningless because their basic principle is nescience. PURPORT The reciters of these prayers are describing the transcendental qualities of Pṛthu Mahārāja. These qualities are summarized in the words sākṣād bhagavān. This indicates that Mahārāja Pṛthu is directly the Supreme Personality of Godhead and therefore possesses unlimited good qualities. Being an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Mahārāja Pṛthu could not be equaled in his excellent qualities. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is fully equipped with six kinds of opulences, and King Pṛthu was also empowered in such a way that he could display these six opulences of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in full. The word kūṭa-stha, meaning “without change,” is also very significant. There are two kinds of living entities—nitya-mukta and nitya-baddha. A nitya-mukta never forgets his position as the eternal servant of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One who does not forget this position and knows that he is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord is nitya-mukta. Such a nitya-mukta living entity represents the Supersoul as His expansion. As stated in the Vedas, nityo nityānām. Thus the nitya-mukta living entity knows that he is an expansion of the supreme nitya, or the eternal Supreme Personality of Godhead. Being in such a position, he sees the material world with a different vision. The living entity who is nitya-baddha, or eternally conditioned, sees the material varieties as being actually different from one another. In this connection we should remember that the embodiment of the conditioned soul is considered to be like a dress. One may dress in different ways, but a really learned man does not take dresses into consideration. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (5.18): vidyā-vinaya-sampanne brāhmaṇe gavi hastini śuni caiva śvapāke ca paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ “The humble sage, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned and gentle brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste].” Thus a learned man does not look upon the dresses that externally cover the living entity, but sees the pure soul within the varieties of dress and knows very well that the varieties of dress are the creation of nescience (avidyā-racitam). Being a śaktyāveśa-avatāra, empowered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Pṛthu Mahārāja did not change his spiritual position, and consequently there was no possibility of his viewing the material world as reality. |
TEXT 25 Wz SvSaÚaePavNae SaMaeTYa SaNaTku-Maar& >aGavNTaMaek-Ma( ) AaraDYa >a¢-yal/>aTaaMal&/ TaJa( jaNa& YaTaae b]ø Par& ivdiNTa )) 25 )) eṣa sva-sadmopavane sametya sanat-kumāraṁ bhagavantam ekam ārādhya bhaktyālabhatāmalaṁ taj jñānaṁ yato brahma paraṁ vidanti SYNONYMS eṣaḥ—this King; sva-sadma—of his palace; upavane—in the garden; sametya—meeting; sanat-kumāram—Sanat-kumāra; bhagavantam—the worshipable; ekam—alone; ārādhya—worshiping; bhaktyā—with devotion; alabhata—he will achieve; amalam—without contamination; tat—that; jñānam—transcendental knowledge; yataḥ—by which; brahma—spirit; param—supreme, transcendental; vidanti—they enjoy, they know. TRANSLATION This King Pṛthu will meet Sanat-kumāra, one of the four Kumāras, in the garden of his palace compound. The King will worship him with devotion and will be fortunate to receive instructions by which one can enjoy transcendental bliss. PURPORT The word vidanti refers to one who knows something or enjoys something. When a person is properly instructed by a spiritual master and understands transcendental bliss, he enjoys life. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (18.54), brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati. When one attains to the Brahman platform, he neither hankers nor laments. He actually partakes of transcendental, blissful enjoyment. Although King Pṛthu was an incarnation of Viṣṇu, he nonetheless taught the people in his kingdom to take instructions from a spiritual master who represents the disciplic succession. Thus one can become fortunate and enjoy a blissful life even within this material world. In this verse the verb vidanti is sometimes taken to mean “understanding.” Thus when a person understands Brahman, or the supreme source of everything, he enjoys a blissful life. |
TEXTS 6–7 YaÀaNYadiPa k*-Z<aSYa >avaNa( >aGavTa" Pa[>aae" ) é[v" Saué[vSa" Pau<Ya& PaUvRdehk-Qaaé[YaMa( )) 6 )) >a¢-aYa Mae_Naur¢-aYa Tav caDaae+aJaSYa c ) v¢u-MahRiSa Yaae_duùÜENYaæPae<a GaaiMaMaaMa( )) 7 )) yac cānyad api kṛṣṇasya bhavān bhagavataḥ prabhoḥ śravaḥ suśravasaḥ puṇyaṁ pūrva-deha-kathāśrayam bhaktāya me ’nuraktāya tava cādhokṣajasya ca vaktum arhasi yo ’duhyad vainya-rūpeṇa gām imām SYNONYMS yat—which; ca—and; anyat—other; api—certainly; kṛṣṇasya—of Kṛṣṇa; bhavān—your good self; bhagavataḥ—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; prabhoḥ—powerful; śravaḥ—glorious activities; su-śravasaḥ—who is very pleasing to hear about; puṇyam—pious; pūrva-deha—of His previous incarnation; kathā-āśrayam—connected with the narration; bhaktāya—unto the devotee; me—to me; anuraktāya—very much attentive; tava—of you; ca—and; adhokṣajasya—of the Lord, who is known as Adhokṣaja; ca—also; vaktum arhasi—please narrate; yaḥ—one who; aduhyat—milked; vainya-rūpeṇa—in the form of the son of King Vena; gām—cow, earth; imām—this. TRANSLATION Pṛthu Mahārāja was a powerful incarnation of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s potencies; consequently any narration concerning his activities is surely very pleasing to hear, and it produces all good fortune. As far as I am concerned, I am always your devotee as well as a devotee of the Lord, who is known as Adhokṣaja. Please therefore narrate all the stories of King Pṛthu, who, in the form of the son of King Vena, milked the cow-shaped earth. PURPORT Lord Kṛṣṇa is also known as avatārī, which means, “one from whom all the incarnations emanate.” In Bhagavad-gītā (10.8) Lord Kṛṣṇa says, ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate: “I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me.” Thus Lord Kṛṣṇa is the origin of everyone’s appearance. As far as this material world is concerned, Lord Brahmā, Lord Viṣṇu and Lord Śiva are all emanations from Kṛṣṇa. These three incarnations of Kṛṣṇa are called guṇa-avatāras. The material world is governed by three material modes of nature, and Lord Viṣṇu, Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva respectively take charge of the modes of goodness, passion and ignorance. Mahārāja Pṛthu is also an incarnation of those qualities of Lord Kṛṣṇa by which one rules over conditioned souls. In this verse the word adhokṣaja, meaning “beyond the perception of the material senses,” is very significant. No one can perceive the Supreme Personality of Godhead by mental speculation; therefore a person with a poor fund of knowledge cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Since one can form only an impersonal idea on the strength of one’s material senses, the Lord is known as Adhokṣaja. |
Wv& MaNYauMaYaq& MaUiTa| k*-TaaNTaiMav ib>a]TaMa( ) Pa[<aTaa Pa[aÅil/" Pa[ah Mahq SaÅaTavePaQau" )) 28 )) evaṁ manyumayīṁ mūrtiṁ kṛtāntam iva bibhratam praṇatā prāñjaliḥ prāha mahī sañjāta-vepathuḥ SYNONYMS evam—thus; manyu-mayīm—very much angry; mūrtim—form; kṛta-antam—death personified, Yamarāja; iva—like; bibhratam—possessing; praṇatā—surrendered; prāñjaliḥ—with folded hands; prāha—said; mahī—the planet earth; sañjāta—arisen; vepathuḥ—trembling in her body. TRANSLATION At this time Pṛthu Mahārāja became exactly like Yamarāja, and his whole body appeared very angry. In other words, he was anger personified. After hearing him, the planet earth began to tremble. She surrendered, and with folded hands began to speak as follows. PURPORT The Supreme Personality of Godhead is death personified to miscreants and the supreme beloved Lord to the devotees. In Bhagavad-gītā (10.34) the Lord says, mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraś cāham: “I am all-devouring death.” Faithless unbelievers, who challenge the appearance of God, will be delivered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead when He appears before them as death. Hiraṇyakaśipu, for example, challenged the authority of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the Lord met him in the form of Nṛsiṁhadeva and killed him. Similarly, the planet earth saw Mahārāja Pṛthu as death personified, and she also saw him in the mood of anger personified. Therefore she began to tremble. One cannot challenge the authority of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in any circumstance. It is better to surrender unto Him and take His protection at all times. |
Daraevac NaMa" ParSMaE PauåzaYa MaaYaYaa ivNYaSTaNaaNaaTaNave Gau<aaTMaNae ) NaMa" SvæPaaNau>aveNa iNaDauRTa‚ d]VYai§-Yaak-ark-iv>a]MaaeMaRYae )) 29 )) dharovāca namaḥ parasmai puruṣāya māyayā vinyasta-nānā-tanave guṇātmane namaḥ svarūpānubhavena nirdhuta- dravya-kriyā-kāraka-vibhramormaye SYNONYMS dharā—the planet earth; uvāca—said; namaḥ—I offer my obeisances; parasmai—unto the Transcendence; puruṣāya—unto the person; māyayā—by the material energy; vinyasta—expanded; nānā—various; tanave—whose forms; guṇa-ātmane—unto the source of the three modes of material nature; namaḥ—I offer my obeisances; svarūpa—of the real form; anubhavena—by understanding; nirdhuta—not affected by; dravya—matter; kriyā—action; kāraka—doer; vibhrama—bewilderment; ūrmaye—the waves of material existence. TRANSLATION The planet earth spoke: My dear Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, You are transcendental in Your position, and by Your material energy You have expanded Yourself in various forms and species of life through the interaction of the three modes of material nature. Unlike some other masters, You always remain in Your transcendental position and are not affected by the material creation, which is subject to different material interactions. Consequently You are not bewildered by material activities. PURPORT After King Pṛthu gave his royal command, the planet earth in the shape of a cow could understand that the King was a directly empowered incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Consequently the King knew everything—past, present and future. Thus there was no possibility of the earth’s cheating him. The earth was accused of hiding the seeds of all herbs and grains, and therefore she is preparing to explain how the seeds of these herbs and grains can be again exposed. The earth knew that the King was very angry with her, and she realized that unless she pacified his anger, there was no possibility of placing a positive program before him. Therefore in the beginning of her speech she very humbly presents herself as a part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s body. She submits that the various bodily forms manifest in the physical world are but different parts and parcels of the supreme gigantic body. It is said that the lower planetary systems are parts and parcels of the legs of the Lord, whereas the upper planetary systems are parts and parcels of the Lord’s head. The Lord creates this material world by His external energy, but this external energy is in one sense not different from Him. Yet at the same time the Lord is not directly manifest in the external energy but is always situated in the spiritual energy. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (9.10), mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ: material nature is working under the direction of the Lord. Therefore the Lord is not unattached to the external energy, and He is addressed in this verse as guṇa-ātmā, the source of the three modes of material nature. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (13.15), nirguṇaṁ guṇa-bhoktṛ ca: although the Lord is not attached to the external energy, He is nonetheless the master of it. The philosophy of Lord Caitanya, upholding that the Lord is simultaneously one with and different from His creation (), is very easily understandable in this connection. The planet earth explains that although the Lord is attached to the external energy, He is nirdhuta; He is completely free from the activities of the external energy. The Lord is always situated in His internal energy. Therefore in this verse it is stated: svarūpa-anubhavena. The Lord remains completely in His internal potency and yet has full knowledge of the external energy as well as the internal energy, just as His devotee remains always in a transcendental position, keeping himself in the service of the Lord without becoming attached to the material body. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī says that the devotee who is always engaged in the devotional service of the Lord is always liberated, regardless of his material situation. If it is possible for a devotee to remain transcendental, it is certainly possible for the Supreme Personality of Godhead to remain in His internal potency without being attached to the external potency. There should be no difficulty in understanding this situation. Just as a devotee is never bewildered by his material body, the Lord is never bewildered by the external energy of this material world. A devotee is not hampered by the material body, although he is situated in a physical body that runs according to so many material conditions, just as there are five kinds of air functioning within the body, and so many organs—the hands, legs, tongue, genitals, rectum, etc.—all working differently. The spirit soul, the living entity, who is in full knowledge of his position is always engaged in chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare and is not concerned with the bodily functions. Although the Lord is connected with the material world, He is always situated in His spiritual energy and is always unattached to the functions of the material world. As far as the material body is concerned, there are six “waves,” or symptomatic material conditions: hunger, thirst, lamentation, bewilderment, old age and death. The liberated soul is never concerned with these six physical interactions. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, being the all-powerful master of all energies, has some connection with the external energy, but He is always free from the interactions of the external energy in the material world. |
TEXT 30 YaeNaahMaaTMaaYaTaNa& iviNaiMaRTaa Daa}aa YaTaae_Ya& Gau<aSaGaRSa°h" ) Sa Wv Maa& hNTauMaudaYauDa" Svra‚ @uPaiSQaTaae_NYa& Xar<a& k-Maaé[Yae )) 30 )) yenāham ātmāyatanaṁ vinirmitā dhātrā yato ’yaṁ guṇa-sarga-saṅgrahaḥ sa eva māṁ hantum udāyudhaḥ svarāḍ upasthito ’nyaṁ śaraṇaṁ kam āśraye SYNONYMS yena—by whom; aham—I; ātma-āyatanam—resting place of all living entities; vinirmitā—was created; dhātrā—by the Supreme Lord; yataḥ—on account of whom; ayam—this; guṇa-sarga-saṅgrahaḥ—combination of different material elements; saḥ—He; eva—certainly; mām—me; hantum—to kill; udāyudhaḥ—prepared with weapons; svarāṭ—completely independent; upasthitaḥ—now present before me; anyam—other; śaraṇam—shelter; kam—unto whom; āśraye—I shall resort to. TRANSLATION The planet earth continued: My dear Lord, You are the complete conductor of the material creation. You have created this cosmic manifestation and the three material qualities, and therefore You have created me, the planet earth, the resting place of all living entities. Yet You are always fully independent, my Lord. Now that You are present before me and ready to kill me with Your weapons, let me know where I should go to take shelter, and tell me who can give me protection. PURPORT The planet earth herein exhibits the symptoms of full surrender before the Lord. As stated, no one can protect the person whom Kṛṣṇa is prepared to kill, and no one can kill the person whom Kṛṣṇa protects. Because the Lord was prepared to kill the planet earth, there was no one to give protection to her. We are all receiving protection from the Lord, and it is therefore proper that every one of us surrender unto Him. In Bhagavad-gītā (18.66) the Lord instructs: sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ “Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.” Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura sings: “My dear Lord, whatever I have—even my mind, the center of all material necessities. namely my home, my body and whatever I have in connection with this body—I now surrender unto You. You are now completely independent to act however You like. If You like, You can kill me, and if You like, You can save me. In any case, I am Your eternal servant, and You have every right to do whatever You like.” |
TEXT 4 TaaNaaiTaïiTa Ya" SaMYaGauPaaYaaNa( PaUvRdiXaRTaaNa( ) Avr" é[ÖYaaePaeTa oPaeYaaNa( ivNdTae_ÅSaa )) 4 )) tān ātiṣṭhati yaḥ samyag upāyān pūrva-darśitān avaraḥ śraddhayopeta upeyān vindate ’ñjasā SYNONYMS tān—those; ātiṣṭhati—follows; yaḥ—anyone who; samyak—completely; upāyān—principles; pūrva—formerly; darśitān—instructed; avaraḥ—inexperienced; śraddhayā—with faith; upetaḥ—being situated; upeyān—the fruits of activities; vindate—enjoys; añjasā—very easily. TRANSLATION One who follows the principles and instructions enjoined by the great sages of the past can utilize these instructions for practical purposes. Such a person can very easily enjoy life and pleasures. PURPORT The Vedic principles (mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ) urge us to follow in the footsteps of great liberated souls. In this way we can receive benefit in both this life and the next, and we can also improve our material life. By following the principles laid down by great sages and saints of the past, we can very easily understand the aim of all life. The word avaraḥ, meaning “inexperienced,” is very significant in this verse. Every conditioned soul is inexperienced. Everyone is abodha jāta—born a fool and rascal. In democratic government at the present moment all kinds of fools and rascals are making decisions. But what can they do? What is the result of their legislation? They enact something today just to whimsically repeal it tomorrow. One political party utilizes a country for one purpose, and the next moment another political party forms a different type of government and nullifies all the laws and regulations. This process of chewing the chewed (punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām [SB 7.5.30]) will never make human society happy. In order to make all human society happy and prosperous, we should accept the standard methods given by liberated persons. |
TEXT 18 vTSaeNa iPaTarae_YaRM<aa k-VYa& +aqrMaDau+aTa ) AaMaPaa}ae Maha>aaGaa" é[ÖYaa é[aÖdevTaa" )) 18 )) vatsena pitaro ’ryamṇā kavyaṁ kṣīram adhukṣata āma-pātre mahā-bhāgāḥ śraddhayā śrāddha-devatāḥ SYNONYMS vatsena—by the calf; pitaraḥ—the inhabitants of Pitṛloka; aryamṇā—by the god of Pitṛloka, Aryamā; kavyam—offerings of food to ancestors; kṣīram—milk; adhukṣata—took out; āma-pātre—into an unbaked earthen pot; mahā-bhāgāḥ—the greatly fortunate; śraddhayā—with great faith; śrāddha-devatāḥ—the demigods presiding over śrāddha ceremonies in honor of deceased relatives. TRANSLATION The fortunate inhabitants of Pitṛloka, who preside over the funeral ceremonies, made Aryamā into a calf. With great faith they milked kavya, food offered to the ancestors, into an unbaked earthen pot. PURPORT In Bhagavad-gītā (9.25) it is said, pitṝn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ. Those who are interested in family welfare are called pitṛ-vratāḥ. There is a planet called Pitṛloka, and the predominating deity of that planet is called Aryamā. He is somewhat of a demigod, and by satisfying him one can help ghostly family members develop a gross body. Those who are very sinful and attached to their family, house, village or country do not receive a gross body made of material elements but remain in a subtle body, composed of mind, ego and intelligence. Those who live in such subtle bodies are called ghosts. This ghostly position is very painful because a ghost has intelligence, mind and ego and wants to enjoy material life, but because he doesn’t have a gross material body, he can only create disturbances for want of material satisfaction. It is the duty of family members, especially the son, to offer oblations to the demigod Aryamā or to Lord Viṣṇu. From time immemorial in India the son of a dead man goes to Gayā and, at a Viṣṇu temple there, offers oblations for the benefit of his ghostly father. It is not that everyone’s father becomes a ghost, but the oblations of piṇḍa are offered to the lotus feet of Lord Viṣṇu so that if a family member happens to become a ghost, he will be favored with a gross body. However, if one is habituated to taking the prasāda of Lord Viṣṇu, there is no chance of his becoming a ghost or anything lower than a human being. In Vedic civilization there is a performance called śrāddha by which food is offered with faith and devotion. If one offers oblations with faith and devotion—either to the lotus feet of Lord Viṣṇu or to His representative in Pitṛloka, Aryamā—one’s forefathers will attain material bodies to enjoy whatever material enjoyment is due them. In other words, they do not have to become ghosts. |
Ya}a YajPaiTa" Saa+aaÙGavaNa( hirrqìr" ) ANv>aUYaTa SavaRTMaa SavRl/aek-Gauå" Pa[>au" )) 3 )) yatra yajña-patiḥ sākṣād bhagavān harir īśvaraḥ anvabhūyata sarvātmā sarva-loka-guruḥ prabhuḥ SYNONYMS yatra—where; yajña-patiḥ—the enjoyer of all sacrifices; sākṣāt—directly; bhagavān—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; hariḥ—Lord Viṣṇu; īśvaraḥ—the supreme controller; anvabhūyata—became visible; sarva-ātmā—the Supersoul of everyone; sarva-loka-guruḥ—the master of all planets, or the teacher of everyone; prabhuḥ—the proprietor. TRANSLATION The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Viṣṇu, is present in everyone’s heart as the Supersoul, and He is the proprietor of all planets and the enjoyer of the results of all sacrifices. He was personally present at the sacrifices made by King Pṛthu. PURPORT In this verse the word sākṣāt is significant. Pṛthu Mahārāja was a śaktyāveśa-avatāra incarnation of Lord Viṣṇu. Actually Pṛthu Mahārāja was a living entity, but he acquired specific powers from Lord Viṣṇu. Lord Viṣṇu, however, is directly the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and thus belongs to the category of viṣṇu-tattva. Mahārāja Pṛthu belonged to the jīva-tattva. The viṣṇu-tattva indicates God, whereas the jīva-tattva indicates the part and parcel of God. When God’s part and parcel is especially empowered, he is called śaktyāveśa-avatāra. Lord Viṣṇu is herein described as harir īśvaraḥ. The Lord is so kind that He takes all miserable conditions away from His devotees. Consequently He is called Hari. He is described as īśvara because He can do whatever He likes. He is the supreme controller. The supreme īśvara puruṣottama is Lord Kṛṣṇa. He exhibits His powers as īśvara, or the supreme controller, when He assures His devotee in Bhagavad-gītā (18.66): “Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.” He can immediately make His devotee immune from all the reactions caused by sinful life if the devotee simply surrenders unto Him. He is described herein as sarvātmā, meaning that He is present in everyone’s heart as the Supersoul, and as such He is the supreme teacher of everyone. If we are fortunate enough to take the lessons given by Lord Kṛṣṇa in Bhagavad-gītā, our lives immediately become successful. No one can give better instructions to human society than Lord Kṛṣṇa. |
TEXT 8 Ohu" SavRrSaaàÛ" +aqrdDYaàGaaerSaaNa( ) Tarvae >aUirvZMaaR<a" Pa[aSaUYaNTa MaDauCYauTa" )) 8 )) ūhuḥ sarva-rasān nadyaḥ kṣīra-dadhy-anna-go-rasān taravo bhūri-varṣmāṇaḥ prāsūyanta madhu-cyutaḥ SYNONYMS ūhuḥ—bore; sarva-rasān—all kinds of tastes; nadyaḥ—the rivers; kṣīra—milk; dadhi—curd; anna—different kinds of food; go-rasān—other milk products; taravaḥ—trees; bhūri—great; varṣmāṇaḥ—having bodies; prāsūyanta—bore fruit; madhu-cyutaḥ—dropping honey. TRANSLATION The flowing rivers supplied all kinds of tastes—sweet, pungent, sour, etc.—and very big trees supplied fruit and honey in abundance. The cows, having eaten sufficient green grass, supplied profuse quantities of milk, curd, clarified butter and similar other necessities. PURPORT If rivers are not polluted and are allowed to flow in their own way, or sometimes allowed to flood the land, the land will become very fertile and able to produce all kinds of vegetables, trees and plants. The word rasa means “taste.” Actually all rasas are tastes within the earth, and as soon as seeds are sown in the ground, various trees sprout up to satisfy our different tastes. For instance, sugarcane provides its juices to satisfy our taste for sweetness, and oranges provide their juices to satisfy our taste for a mixture of the sour and the sweet. Similarly, there are pineapples and other fruits. At the same time, there are chilies to satisfy our taste for pungency. Although the earth’s ground is the same, different tastes arise due to different kinds of seeds. As Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (7.10), bījaṁ māṁ sarva-bhūtānām: “I am the original seed of all existences.” Therefore all arrangements are there. And as stated in Īśopaniṣad: pūrṇam idam [Īśopaniṣad, Invocation]. Complete arrangements for the production of all the necessities of life are made by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. People should therefore learn how to satisfy the yajña-puruṣa, Lord Viṣṇu. Indeed, the living entity’s prime business is to satisfy the Lord because the living entity is part and parcel of the Lord. Thus the whole system is so arranged that the living entity must do his duty as he is constitutionally made. Without doing so, all living entities must suffer. That is the law of nature. The words taravo bhūri-varṣmāṇaḥ indicate very luxuriantly grown, big-bodied trees. The purpose of these trees was to produce honey and varieties of fruit. In other words, the forest also has its purpose in supplying honey, fruits and flowers. Unfortunately in Kali-yuga, due to an absence of yajña, there are many big trees in the forests, but they do not supply sufficient fruits and honey. Thus everything is dependent on the performance of yajña. The best way to perform yajña in this age is to spread the saṅkīrtana movement all over the world. |
TEXT 12 TaMai}a>aRGavaNaE+atvrMaa<a& ivhaYaSaa ) AaMau¢-iMav Paa%<@& Yaae_DaMaeR DaMaRiv>a]Ma" )) 12 )) tam atrir bhagavān aikṣat tvaramāṇaṁ vihāyasā āmuktam iva pākhaṇḍaṁ yo ’dharme dharma-vibhramaḥ SYNONYMS tam—King Indra; atriḥ—the sage Atri; bhagavān—most powerful; aikṣat—could see; tvaramāṇam—moving very hastily; vihāyasā—in outer space; āmuktam iva—like a liberated person; pākhaṇḍam—imposter; yaḥ—one who; adharme—in irreligion; dharma—religion; vibhramaḥ—mistaking. TRANSLATION When King Indra was taking away the horse, he dressed himself to appear as a liberated person. Actually this dress was a form of cheating, for it falsely created an impression of religion. When Indra went into outer space in this way, the great sage Atri saw him and understood the whole situation. PURPORT The word pākhaṇḍa used in this verse is sometimes pronounced pāṣaṇḍa. Both of these words indicate an imposter who presents himself as a very religious person but in actuality is sinful. Indra took up the saffron-colored dress as a way of cheating others. This saffron dress has been misused by many imposters who present themselves as liberated persons or incarnations of God. In this way people are cheated. As we have mentioned many times, the conditioned soul has a tendency to cheat; therefore this quality is also visible in a person like King Indra. It is understood that even King Indra is not liberated from the clutches of material contamination. Thus the words āmuktam iva, meaning “as if he were liberated,” are used. The saffron dress worn by a sannyāsī announces to the world that he has renounced all worldly affairs and is simply engaged in the service of the Lord. Such a devotee is actually a sannyāsī, or liberated person. In Bhagavad-gītā (6.1) it is said: anāśritaḥ karma-phalaṁ kāryaṁ karma karoti yaḥ sa sannyāsī ca yogī ca na niragnir na cākriyaḥ “One who is unattached to the fruits of his work and who works as he is obligated is in the renounced order of life, and he is the true mystic, not he who lights no fire and performs no work.” In other words, one who offers the results of his activities to the Supreme Personality of Godhead is actually a sannyāsī and yogī. Cheating sannyāsīs and yogīs have existed since the time of Pṛthu Mahārāja’s sacrifice. This cheating was very foolishly introduced by King Indra. In some ages such cheating is very prominent, and in other ages not so prominent. It is the duty of a sannyāsī to be very cautious because, as stated by Lord Caitanya, sannyāsīra alpa chidra sarva-loke gāya: a little spot in a sannyāsī’s character will be magnified by the public (Cc. Madhya 12.51). Therefore, unless one is very sincere and serious, he should not take up the order of sannyāsa. One should not use this order as a means to cheat the public. It is better not to take up sannyāsa in this age of Kali because provocations are very strong in this age. Only a very exalted person advanced in spiritual understanding should attempt to take up sannyāsa. One should not adopt this order as a means of livelihood or for some material purpose. |
TEXT 36 Wi>airNd]aePaSa&Sa*íE" Paa%<@EhaRiri>aJaRNaMa( ) ihivc+vENa& YaSTae YajDa]uGaìMau$( )) 36 )) ebhir indropasaṁsṛṣṭaiḥ pākhaṇḍair hāribhir janam hriyamāṇaṁ vicakṣvainaṁ yas te yajña-dhrug aśva-muṭ SYNONYMS ebhiḥ—by these; indra-upasaṁsṛṣṭaiḥ—created by the King of heaven, Indra; pākhaṇḍaiḥ—sinful activities; hāribhiḥ—very attractive to the heart; janam—the people in general; hriyamāṇam—being carried away; vicakṣva—just see; enam—these; yaḥ—one who; te—your; yajña-dhruk—creating a disturbance in the performance of the sacrifice; aśva-muṭ—who stole the horse. TRANSLATION Just see how Indra, the King of heaven, was creating a disturbance in the midst of the sacrifice by stealing the sacrificial horse. These attractive sinful activities he has introduced will be carried out by the people in general. PURPORT As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (3.21): yad yad ācarati śreṣṭhas tad tad evetaro janaḥ sa yat pramāṇaṁ kurute lokas tad anuvartate “Whatever action is performed by a great man, common men follow in his footsteps. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues.” For his own sense gratification, King Indra thought to defeat Mahārāja Pṛthu in the performance of one hundred horse sacrifices. Consequently he stole the horse and hid himself amid so many irreligious personalities, taking on the false guise of a sannyāsī. Such activities are attractive to the people in general; therefore they are dangerous. Lord Brahmā thought that instead of allowing Indra to further introduce such irreligious systems, it would be better to stop the sacrifice. A similar stance was taken by Lord Buddha when people were overly engrossed in the animal sacrifices recommended by Vedic instructions. Lord Buddha had to introduce the religion of nonviolence by contradicting the Vedic sacrificial instructions. Actually, in the sacrifices the slaughtered animals were given a new life, but people without such powers were taking advantage of such Vedic rituals and unnecessarily killing poor animals. Therefore Lord Buddha had to deny the authority of the Vedas for the time being. One should not perform sacrifices that will induce reversed orders. It is better to stop such sacrifices. As we have repeatedly explained, due to a lack of qualified brahminical priests in Kali-yuga, it is not possible to perform the ritualistic ceremonies recommended in the Vedas. Consequently the śāstras instruct us to perform the saṅkīrtana-yajña. By the saṅkīrtana sacrifice, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in His form of Lord Caitanya, will be satisfied and worshiped. The entire purpose of performing sacrifices is to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu. Lord Viṣṇu, or Lord Kṛṣṇa, is present in His form of Lord Caitanya; therefore people who are intelligent should try to satisfy Him by performing saṅkīrtana-yajña. This is the easiest way to satisfy Lord Viṣṇu in this age. people should take advantage of the injunctions in different śāstras concerning sacrifices in this age and not create unnecessary disturbances during the sinful age of Kali. In Kali-yuga men all over the world are very expert in opening slaughterhouses for killing animals, which they eat. If the old ritualistic ceremonies were observed, people would be encouraged to kill more and more animals. In Calcutta there are many butcher shops which keep a deity of the goddess Kālī, and animal-eaters think it proper to purchase animal flesh from such shops in hope that they are eating the remnants of food offered to goddess Kālī. They do not know that goddess Kālī never accepts nonvegetarian food because she is the chaste wife of Lord Śiva. Lord Śiva is also a great Vaiṣṇava and never eats nonvegetarian food, and the goddess Kālī accepts the remnants of food left by Lord Śiva. Therefore there is no possibility of her eating flesh or fish. Such offerings are accepted by the associates of goddess Kālī known as bhūtas, piśācas and Rākṣasas, and those who take the prasāda of goddess Kālī in the shape of flesh or fish are not actually taking the prasāda left by goddess Kālī, but the food left by the bhūtas and piśācas. |
TEXT 37 >avaNa( Pair}aaTauiMahavTaq<aaeR DaMa| JaNaaNaa& SaMaYaaNauæPaMa( ) veNaaPacaradvlu/áMaÛ TaÕehTaae ivZ<auk-l/aiSa vENYa )) 37 )) bhavān paritrātum ihāvatīrṇo dharmaṁ janānāṁ samayānurūpam venāpacārād avaluptam adya tad-dehato viṣṇu-kalāsi vainya SYNONYMS bhavān—Your Majesty; paritrātum—just to deliver; iha—in this world; avatīrṇaḥ—incarnated; dharmam—religious system; janānām—of the people in general; samaya-anurūpam—according to the time and circumstances; vena-apacārāt—by the misdeeds of King Vena; avaluptam—almost vanished; adya—at the present moment; tat—his; dehataḥ—from the body; viṣṇu—of Lord Viṣṇu; kalā—part of a plenary portion; asi—you are; vainya—O son of King Vena. TRANSLATION O King Pṛthu, son of Vena, you are the part-and-parcel expansion of Lord Viṣṇu. Due to the mischievous activities of King Vena, religious principles were almost lost. At that opportune moment you descended as the incarnation of Lord Viṣṇu. Indeed, for the protection of religious principles you have appeared from the body of King Vena. PURPORT The way in which Lord Viṣṇu kills the demons and protects the faithful is mentioned in Bhagavad-gītā (4.8): paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge “In order to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium.” In two hands Lord Viṣṇu always carries a club and a cakra to kill demons, and in His other two hands He holds a conchshell and a lotus to give protection to His devotees. When His incarnation is present on this planet or in this universe, the Lord kills the demons and protects His devotees simultaneously. Sometimes Lord Viṣṇu appears in His person as Lord Kṛṣṇa or Lord Rāma. All of these appearances are mentioned in the śāstras. Sometimes He appears as a śaktyāveśa-avatāra like Lord Buddha. As explained before, these śaktyāveśa-avatāras are incarnations of Viṣṇu’s power invested in a living entity. Living entities are also part and parcel of Lord Viṣṇu, but they are not as powerful; therefore when a living entity descends as an incarnation of Viṣṇu, he is especially empowered by the Lord. When King Pṛthu is described as an incarnation of Lord Viṣṇu, it should be understood that he is a śaktyāveśa-avatāra, part and parcel of Lord Viṣṇu, and is specifically empowered by Him. Any living being acting as the incarnation of Lord Viṣṇu is thus empowered by Lord Viṣṇu to preach the bhakti cult. Such a person can act like Lord Viṣṇu and defeat demons by arguments and preach the bhakti cult exactly according to the principles of śāstra. As indicated in Bhagavad-gītā, whenever we find someone extraordinary preaching the bhakti cult, we should know that he is especially empowered by Lord Viṣṇu, or Lord Kṛṣṇa. As confirmed in Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Antya 7.11), kṛṣṇa-śakti vinā nahe tāra pravartana: one cannot explain the glories of the holy name of the Lord without being specifically empowered by Him. If one criticizes or finds fault with such an empowered personality, one is to be considered an offender against Lord Viṣṇu and is punishable. Even though such offenders may dress as Vaiṣṇavas with false tilaka and mālā, they are never forgiven by the Lord if they offend a pure Vaiṣṇava. There are many instances of this in the śāstras. |
TEXT 3 SauiDaYa" SaaDavae l/aeke- Nardev NaraetaMaa" ) Naai>adu]ùiNTa >aUTae>Yaae YaihR NaaTMaa k-le/vrMa( )) 3 )) sudhiyaḥ sādhavo loke naradeva narottamāḥ nābhidruhyanti bhūtebhyo yarhi nātmā kalevaram SYNONYMS su-dhiyaḥ—the most intelligent persons; sādhavaḥ—who are inclined to perform welfare activities; loke—in this world; nara-deva—O King; nara-uttamāḥ—the best of human beings; na abhidruhyanti—never become malicious; bhūtebhyaḥ—toward other living beings; yarhi—because; na—never; ātmā—the self or soul; kalevaram—this body. TRANSLATION O King, one who is advanced in intelligence and eager to perform welfare activities for others is considered best amongst human beings. An advanced human being is never malicious to others. Those with advanced intelligence are always conscious that this material body is different from the soul. PURPORT In daily life we find that when a madman commits murder, he is excused even by a high-court judge. The idea is that a living entity is always pure because he is part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When he falls into the clutches of material energy, he becomes a victim of the three modes of material nature. Indeed, whatever he does, he does under the influence of material nature. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (5.14): na kartṛtvaṁ na karmāṇi lokasya sṛjati prabhuḥ na karma-phala-saṁyogaṁ svabhāvas tu pravartate “The embodied spirit, master of the city of his body, does not create activities, nor does he induce people to act, nor does he create the fruits of action. All this is enacted by the modes of material nature.” Actually the living entity, or soul, does not do anything; everything is done under the influence of the modes of material nature. When a man is diseased, the symptoms of the disease become a source of all kinds of pain. Those who are advanced in transcendental consciousness, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, are never envious, neither of the soul nor of the activities of the soul under the influence of material nature. Advanced transcendentalists are called sudhiyaḥ. Sudhī means “intelligence,” sudhī means “highly advanced,” and sudhī means “devotee.” One who is both devoted and highly advanced in intelligence does not take action against the soul or the body. If there is any discrepancy, he forgives. It is said that forgiveness is a quality of those who are advancing in spiritual knowledge. |
ATa" k-aYaiMaMa& ivÜaNaivÛak-aMak-MaRi>a" ) AarBDa wiTa NaEvaiSMaNa( Pa[iTabuÖae_NauzÂTae )) 5 )) ataḥ kāyam imaṁ vidvān avidyā-kāma-karmabhiḥ ārabdha iti naivāsmin pratibuddho ’nuṣajjate SYNONYMS ataḥ—therefore; kāyam—body; imam—this; vidvān—he who has knowledge; avidyā—by nescience; kāma—desires; karmabhiḥ—and by activities; ārabdhaḥ—created; iti—thus; na—never; eva—certainly; asmin—to this body; pratibuddhaḥ—one who knows; anuṣajjate—becomes addicted. TRANSLATION Those who are in full knowledge of the bodily conception of life, who know that this body is composed of nescience, desires and activities resulting from illusion, do not become addicted to the body. PURPORT As stated in a previous verse, those with good intellect (sudhiyaḥ) do not accept themselves to be the body. Being a creation of nescience, the body has two types of activities. In the bodily conception, when we think that sense gratification will help us, we are in illusion. Another kind of illusion is to think that one will become happy by trying to satisfy the desires that arise from the illusory body or by attaining elevation to the higher planetary systems or by performing various types of Vedic rituals. This is all illusion. Similarly, material activities performed for political emancipation and social and humanitarian activities performed with an idea that people of the world will be happy are also illusory because the basic principle is the bodily conception, which is illusory. Whatever we desire or perform under the bodily conception is all illusion. In other words, Lord Viṣṇu informed Pṛthu Mahārāja that although the sacrificial performances set an example for ordinary people, there was no need for such sacrificial performances as far as his personal self was concerned. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (2.45): traiguṇya-viṣayā vedā nistraiguṇyo bhavārjuna nirdvandvo nitya-sattva-stho niryoga-kṣema ātmavān “The Vedas mainly deal with the subject of the three modes of material nature. Rise above these modes, O Arjuna. Be transcendental to all of them. Be free from all dualities and from all anxieties for gain and safety, and be established in the self.” The ritualistic performances recommended in the Vedas mainly depend on the three modes of material nature. Consequently Arjuna was advised to transcend the Vedic activities. The activities Arjuna was advised to perform were the transcendental activities of devotional service. |
TEXT 8 Ya Wv& SaNTaMaaTMaaNaMaaTMaSQa& ved PaUåz" ) NaaJYaTae Pa[k*-iTaSQaae_iPa Tad(Gau<aE" Sa MaiYa iSQaTa" )) 8 )) ya evaṁ santam ātmānam ātma-sthaṁ veda pūruṣaḥ nājyate prakṛti-stho ’pi tad-guṇaiḥ sa mayi sthitaḥ SYNONYMS yaḥ—anyone who; evam—thus; santam—existing; ātmānam—the individual ātmā and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Paramātmā; ātma-stham—situated within his body; veda—knows; pūruṣaḥ—person; na—never; ajyate—is affected; prakṛti—in material nature; sthaḥ—situated; api—although; tat-guṇaiḥ—by the material modes of nature; saḥ—such a person; mayi—in Me; sthitaḥ—situated. TRANSLATION Although within the material nature, one who is thus situated in full knowledge of the Paramātmā and ātmā is never affected by the modes of material nature, for he is always situated in My transcendental loving service. PURPORT When the Supreme Personality of Godhead appears in this material world, He is not affected by the modes of material nature. Similarly, those who are always connected with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, even though they be within the material body or the material world, are not affected by the material qualities. That is explained very nicely in Bhagavad-gītā (14.26): “One who is unflinchingly engaged in the devotional service of the Lord surpasses the material qualities and attains Brahman realization.” In this connection Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī says that if a person is always engaged in the service of the Lord with his body, words and mind, he is to be considered liberated, although living in the material world. |
TEXT 14 é[eYa" Pa[JaaPaal/NaMaev rajae YaTSaaMParaYae Sauk*-TaaTa( zïMa&XaMa( ) hTaaRNYaQaa ôTaPau<Ya" Pa[JaaNaa‚ Mari+aTaa k-rharae_gaMaita )) 14 )) śreyaḥ prajā-pālanam eva rājño yat sāmparāye sukṛtāt ṣaṣṭham aṁśam hartānyathā hṛta-puṇyaḥ prajānām arakṣitā kara-hāro ’gham atti SYNONYMS śreyaḥ—auspicious; prajā-pālanam—ruling over the general mass of people; eva—certainly; rājñaḥ—for the king; yat—because; sāmparāye—in the next birth; su-kṛtāt—from the pious activities; ṣaṣṭham aṁśam—one-sixth part; hartā—collector; anyathā—otherwise; hṛta-puṇyaḥ—being bereft of the results of pious activities; prajānām—of the citizens; arakṣitā—one who does not protect; kara-hāraḥ—tax collector; agham—sin; atti—receives or suffers. TRANSLATION To give protection to the general mass of people who are citizens of the state is the prescribed occupational duty for a king. By acting in that way, the king in his next life shares one sixth of the result of the pious activities of the citizens. But a king or executive head of state who simply collects taxes from the citizens but does not give them proper protection as human beings has the results of his own pious activities taken away by the citizens, and in exchange for his not giving protection he becomes liable to punishment for the impious activities of his subjects. PURPORT The question may be raised here that if everyone engaged in spiritual activities to attain salvation and became indifferent to the activities of the material world, then how could things as they are go on? And if things are to go on as they ought to, how can a head of state be indifferent to such activities? In answer to this question, the word śreyaḥ, auspicious, is used here. The division of activities in society as arranged by the Supreme Personality of Godhead was not blindly or accidently created, as foolish people say. The brāhmaṇa must do his duty properly, and the kṣatriya, the vaiśya and even the śūdra must do the same. And every one of them can achieve the highest perfection of life—liberation from this material bondage. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (18.45). Sve sve karmaṇy abhirataḥ saṁsiddhiṁ labhate naraḥ: “By executing one’s prescribed duties, one can attain the highest perfection.” Lord Viṣṇu advised Mahārāja Pṛthu that a king is not enjoined to give up his kingdom and the responsibility of protecting the prajās, or citizens, to instead go away to the Himalayas for liberation. He can attain liberation while executing his royal duties. The royal duty or the duty of the head of state is to see that the prajās, or the general mass of people, are doing their respective duties for spiritual salvation. A secular state does not necessitate a king or head of state who is indifferent to the activities of the prajās. In the modern state the government has many rules and regulations for conducting the duties of the prajās, but the government neglects to see that the citizens advance in spiritual knowledge. If the government is careless in this matter, the citizens will act whimsically, without any sense of God realization or spiritual life, and thus become entangled in sinful activities. An executive head should not be callous to the welfare of the general mass of people while he simply goes on collecting taxes. The king’s real duty is to see that the citizens gradually become fully Kṛṣṇa conscious. Kṛṣṇa conscious means completely free from all sinful activities. As soon as there is complete eradication of sinful activities in the state, then there will be no more war, pestilence, famine or natural disturbances. This was actually prevailing during the reign of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira. If a king or head of the government is able to induce the citizens to become Kṛṣṇa conscious, then he is worthy to rule over the mass of people; otherwise, he has no right to levy taxes. If the king looks after the spiritual interests of the citizens, he can levy taxes without difficulties. In this way both the subjects and the king will be happy during this life, and in the next life the king will be able to share one sixth of the pious activities of the citizens. Otherwise, by levying taxes on the sinful citizens, he will have to share the reactions of their sinful activities. This same principle can be applied to parents and spiritual masters as well. If parents simply give birth to children like cats and dogs but cannot save their children from imminent death, they become responsible for the activities of their animalistic children. Lately, such children are turning into hippies. Similarly, if a spiritual master cannot direct his disciples to become free of sinful activities, he becomes responsible for their sinful acts. These subtle laws of nature are unknown to the present leaders of society. Since the leaders of society have a poor fund of knowledge and the citizens in general are rogues and thieves, there cannot be an auspicious situation for human society. At the present moment the whole world is full of such an incompatible combination of state and citizens, and therefore there is constant tension, war and anxiety as an inevitable result of such social conditions. |
TEXT 20 Pa[SQaaNaai>aMau%ae_PYaeNaMaNauGa]hivl/iMbTa" ) PaXYaNa( PaÚPal/aXaa+aae Na Pa[TaSQae SauôTSaTaaMa( )) 20 )) prasthānābhimukho ’py enam anugraha-vilambitaḥ paśyan padma-palāśākṣo na pratasthe suhṛt satām SYNONYMS prasthāna—to leave; abhimukhaḥ—ready; api—although; enam—him (Pṛthu); anugraha—by kindness; vilambitaḥ—detained; paśyan—seeing; padma-palāśa-akṣaḥ—the Lord, whose eyes are like the petals of a lotus flower; na—not; pratasthe—departed; suhṛt—the well-wisher; satām—of the devotees. TRANSLATION The Lord was just about to leave, but because He was so greatly inclined toward the behavior of King Pṛthu, He did not depart. Seeing the behavior of Mahārāja Pṛthu with His lotus eyes, He was detained because He is always the well-wisher of His devotees. PURPORT Here the words suhṛt satām are very significant. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is always very inclined toward His devotee and is always thinking of the devotee’s well-being. This is not partiality. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā, the Lord is equal to everyone (samo ’haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu), but to one who particularly engages in His service, He is very much inclined. In another place, the Lord says that a devotee always exists in His heart, and He also exists always in the heart of the devotee. The special inclination of the Supreme Personality of Godhead for His pure devotee is not unnatural, nor is it partiality. For example, sometimes a father has several children, but he has special affection for one child who is very much inclined toward him. This is explained in Bhagavad-gītā (10.10): teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ yena mām upayānti te Those who constantly engage in the devotional service of the Lord in love and affection are directly in contact with the Supreme Personality of Godhead sitting as the Supersoul in everyone’s heart. The Lord is not far away from the devotee. He is always in everyone’s heart, but only the devotee can realize the Lord’s presence, and thus he is directly connected, and he takes instruction from the Lord at every moment. Therefore, there is no chance of a devotee’s being in error, nor is there any partiality on the part of the Lord for His pure devotees. |
TEXT 21 Sa AaidraJaae ricTaaÅil/hRir„& ivl/aeik-Tau& NaaXak-dé[ul/aecNa" ) Na ik-ÄNaaevac Sa baZPaiv(c)-vae ôdaePaGauùaMauMaDaadviSQaTa" )) 21 )) sa ādi-rājo racitāñjalir hariṁ vilokituṁ nāśakad aśru-locanaḥ na kiñcanovāca sa bāṣpa-viklavo hṛdopaguhyāmum adhād avasthitaḥ SYNONYMS saḥ—he; ādi-rājaḥ—the original king; racita-añjaliḥ—with folded hands; harim—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; vilokitum—to look upon; na—not; aśakat—was able; aśru-locanaḥ—his eyes full of tears; na—not; kiñcana—anything; uvāca—spoke; saḥ—he; bāṣpa-viklavaḥ—his voice being choked up; hṛdā—with his heart; upaguhya—embracing; amum—the Lord; adhāt—he remained; avasthitaḥ—standing. TRANSLATION The original king, Mahārāja Pṛthu, his eyes full of tears and his voice faltering and choked up, could neither see the Lord very distinctly nor speak to address the Lord in any way. He simply embraced the Lord within his heart and remained standing in that way with folded hands. PURPORT Just as Kṛṣṇa is addressed in the Brahma-saṁhitā as ādi-puruṣa, the original personality, so King Pṛthu, being an empowered incarnation of the Lord, is referred to in this verse as ādi-rājaḥ, the original or ideal king. He was a great devotee and at the same time a great hero who conquered over all undesirable elements in his kingdom. He was so powerful that he was equal in fighting to Indra, the King of heaven. He gave protection to his citizens, keeping them engaged in pious activities and devotion to the Lord. He did not collect a single cent of taxes from the citizens without being able to give them protection from all calamities. The greatest calamity in life is to become godless and therefore sinful. If the state head or king allows the citizens to become sinful by indulging in illicit sex life, intoxication, meat-eating and gambling, then the king is responsible, and he has to suffer the resultant sequence of reactions for the sinful lives of the citizens because he levies taxes on them unnecessarily. These are the principles for a ruling power, and because Mahārāja Pṛthu observed all the principles for a ruling chief, he is referred to here as ādi-rājaḥ. Even a responsible king like Mahārāja Pṛthu can become a pure devotee of the first order. We can distinctly see from King Pṛthu’s behavior how he became ecstatic, both externally and internally, in pure devotional service. Just today we have seen in the newspapers of Bombay that the government is going to repeal its prohibition laws. Ever since Gandhi’s noncooperation movement, Bombay has been kept dry and has not allowed its citizens to drink. But unfortunately the citizens are so clever that they have increased illicit distillation of liquor, and although not being sold publicly in shops, liquor is being sold in public lavatories and similar abnormal places. Unable to check such illicit smuggling, the government has decided to manufacture the liquor at cheaper prices so that people can have their supply of intoxication directly from the government instead of purchasing it in public lavatories. The government failed to change the hearts of the citizens from indulging in sinful life, so instead of losing the taxes they collect to inflate the treasury, they have decided to manufacture liquor to supply to the citizens who hanker after it. This kind of government cannot check the resultant actions of sinful life, namely war, pestilence, famine, earthquakes and similar other disturbances. Nature’s law is that as soon as there are discrepancies in regard to the law of God (which are described in Bhagavad-gītā as dharmasya glāniḥ, or disobedience to the laws of nature or God), at once there will be heavy punishment in the form of sudden outbreaks of war. We have recently experienced a war between India and Pakistan. Within fourteen days there have been immense losses of men and money, and there have been disturbances to the entire world. These are the reactions of sinful life. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is meant to make people pure and perfect. If we become even partially pure, as described in the Bhāgavatam (naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu [SB 1.2.18]), by development of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then lust and greed, the material diseases of the citizens, will be reduced. This can be made possible simply by broadcasting the pure message of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Big commercial and industrial firms have contributed many thousands of rupees to a defense fund that burns the money in the form of gunpowder, but unfortunately, if they are asked to contribute liberally to advance the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, they are reluctant. Under the circumstances, the world will periodically suffer from such upsurges and outbreaks of war, which are the consequences of not being Kṛṣṇa conscious. |
TEXT 24 Na k-aMaYae NaaQa TadPYah& KvicNa( Na Ya}a YauZMaÀr<aaMbuJaaSav" ) MahtaMaaNTaôRdYaaNMau%CYauTaae ivDaTSv k-<aaRYauTaMaez Mae vr" )) 24 )) na kāmaye nātha tad apy ahaṁ kvacin na yatra yuṣmac-caraṇāmbujāsavaḥ mahattamāntar-hṛdayān mukha-cyuto vidhatsva karṇāyutam eṣa me varaḥ SYNONYMS na—not; kāmaye—do I desire; nātha—O master; tat—that; api—even; aham—I; kvacit—at any time; na—not; yatra—where; yuṣmat—Your; caraṇa-ambuja—of the lotus feet; āsavaḥ—the nectarean beverage; mahat-tama—of the great devotees; antaḥ-hṛdayāt—from the core of the heart; mukha—from the mouths; cyutaḥ—being delivered; vidhatsva—give; karṇa—ears; ayutam—one million; eṣaḥ—this; me—my; varaḥ—benediction. TRANSLATION My dear Lord, I therefore do not wish to have the benediction of merging into Your existence, a benediction in which there is no existence of the nectarean beverage of Your lotus feet. I want the benediction of at least one million ears, for thus I may be able to hear about the glories of Your lotus feet from the mouths of Your pure devotees. PURPORT In the previous verse Mahārāja Pṛthu addressed the Lord as kaivalya-pati, the master of the liberation of merging into His existence. This does not mean that he was anxious for kaivalya liberation. That is made clear in this verse: “My dear Lord, I do not want such a benediction.” Mahārāja Pṛthu wanted to have a million ears to hear the glories of the lotus feet of the Lord. He specifically mentioned that the glories of the Lord should emanate from the mouths of pure devotees, who speak from the cores of their hearts. It is stated in the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.1.3), śuka-mukhād amṛta-drava-saṁyutam: the nectar of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam became more relishable because it emanated from the mouth of Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī. One might think that these glories of the Lord can be heard from anywhere, from the mouths of either devotees or nondevotees, but here it is specifically mentioned that the glories of the Lord must emanate from the mouths of pure devotees. Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī has strictly prohibited hearing from the mouth of a nondevotee. There are many professional reciters of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam who speak the narrations very ornamentally, but a pure devotee does not like to hear from them because such glorification of the Lord is simply a vibration of material sound. But when heard from the mouth of a pure devotee, glorification of the Lord is immediately effective. The words satāṁ prasaṅgān mama vīrya-saṁvidaḥ (Bhāg. 3.25.25) mean that glorification of the Lord is potent when uttered from the mouth of a pure devotee. The Lord has innumerable devotees all over the universe, and they have been glorifying the Lord since time immemorial and for an unlimited time. But still they cannot completely finish enumerating the glories of the Lord. Pṛthu Mahārāja therefore wanted innumerable ears, as Rūpa Gosvāmī also desired to have millions of ears and millions of tongues to chant and hear the glorification of the Lord. In other words, if our ears are always engaged in hearing the glorification of the Lord, there will be no scope for hearing the Māyāvāda philosophy, which is doom to spiritual progress. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said that if anyone hears from a Māyāvādī philosopher preaching about the activities of the Lord, even if it is a description from the Vedic literature, he is ultimately doomed. By hearing such Māyāvāda philosophy one cannot come to the destination of spiritual perfection of life. |
TEXT 29 >aJaNTYaQa TvaMaTa Wv SaaDavae VYaudSTaMaaYaaGau<aiv>a]MaaedYaMa( ) >avTPadaNauSMar<aad*Tae SaTaa& iNaiMataMaNYaÙGavà ivÚhe )) 29 )) bhajanty atha tvām ata eva sādhavo vyudasta-māyā-guṇa-vibhramodayam bhavat-padānusmaraṇād ṛte satāṁ nimittam anyad bhagavan na vidmahe SYNONYMS bhajanti—they worship; atha—therefore; tvām—You; ataḥ eva—therefore; sādhavaḥ—all saintly persons; vyudasta—who dispel; māyā-guṇa—the modes of material nature; vibhrama—misconceptions; udayam—produced; bhavat—Your; pada—lotus feet; anusmaraṇāt—constantly remembering; ṛte—except; satām—of great saintly persons; nimittam—reason; anyat—other; bhagavan—O Supreme Personality of Godhead; na—not; vidmahe—I can understand. TRANSLATION Great saintly persons who are always liberated take to Your devotional service because only by devotional service can one be relieved from the illusions of material existence. O my Lord, there is no reason for the liberated souls to take shelter at Your lotus feet except that such souls are constantly thinking of Your feet. PURPORT The karmīs are generally engaged in fruitive activities for material bodily comforts. The jñānīs, however, are disgusted with searching after material comforts. They understand that they have nothing to do with this material world, being spirit souls. After self-realization, the jñānīs who are actually mature in their knowledge must surrender unto the lotus feet of the Lord, as stated in Bhagavad-gītā (bahūnāṁ janmanām ante [Bg. 7.19]). Self-realization is not complete unless one comes to the devotional platform. Therefore it is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that those who are ātmārāma, self-satisfied, are freed from all contaminations of the material modes of nature. As long as one is affected by the modes of material nature, especially by rajas and tamas, he will be very greedy and lusty and will therefore engage in hard tasks, laboring all day and night. Such false egoism carries one from one species of life into another perpetually, and there is no rest in any species of life. The jñānī understands this fact and therefore ceases to work and takes to karma-sannyāsa. Yet this is not actually the platform of satisfaction. After self-realization, the material wisdom of the jñānī leads him to the shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord. Then he is satisfied only in contemplating the lotus feet of the Lord constantly. Pṛthu Mahārāja therefore concluded that liberated persons taking to the devotional path have acquired the ultimate goal of life. If liberation were the end in itself, there would be no question of a liberated person’s taking to devotional service. In other words, the transcendental bliss derived from self-realization, known as ātmānanda, is very insignificant in the presence of the bliss derived from devotional service to the lotus feet of the Lord. Pṛthu Mahārāja therefore concluded that he would simply hear of the glories of the Lord constantly and thus engage his mind upon the lotus feet of the Lord. That is the highest perfection of life. |
MaNYae iGar& Tae JaGaTaa& ivMaaeihNaq& vr& v*<aqZveiTa >aJaNTaMaaTQa YaTa( ) vaca Nau TaNTYaa Yaid Tae JaNaae_iSaTa" k-Qa& PauNa" k-MaR k-raeiTa MaaeihTa" )) 30 )) manye giraṁ te jagatāṁ vimohinīṁ varaṁ vṛṇīṣveti bhajantam āttha yat vācā nu tantyā yadi te jano ’sitaḥ kathaṁ punaḥ karma karoti mohitaḥ SYNONYMS manye—I consider; giram—words; te—Your; jagatām—to the material world; vimohinīm—bewildering; varam—benediction; vṛṇīṣva—just accept; iti—in this way; bhajantam—unto Your devotee; āttha—You spoke; yat—because; vācā—by the statements of the Vedas; nu—certainly; tantyā—by the ropes; yadi—if; te—Your; janaḥ—the people in general; asitaḥ—not bound; katham—how; punaḥ—again and again; karma—fruitive activities; karoti—perform; mohitaḥ—being enamored. TRANSLATION My dear Lord, what You have said to Your unalloyed devotee is certainly very much bewildering. The allurements You offer in the Vedas are certainly not suitable for pure devotees. People in general, bound by the sweet words of the Vedas, engage themselves again and again in fruitive activities, enamored by the results of their actions. PURPORT Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, a great ācārya of the Gauḍīya-sampradāya, has said that persons who are very much attached to the fruitive activities of the Vedas, namely karma-kāṇḍa and jñāna-kanda, are certainly doomed. In the Vedas there are three categories of activities, known as karma-kāṇḍa (fruitive activities), jñāna-kāṇḍa (philosophical research) and upāsanā-kāṇḍa (worship of different demigods for receiving material benefits). Those who are engaged in karma-kāṇḍa and jñāna-kāṇḍa are doomed in the sense that everyone is doomed who is entrapped by this material body, whether it is a body of a demigod, a king, a lower animal or whatever. The sufferings of the threefold miseries of material nature are the same for all. Cultivation of knowledge to understand one’s spiritual position is also, to a certain extent, a waste of time. Because the living entity is an eternal part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, his immediate business is to engage himself in devotional service. Pṛthu Mahārāja therefore says that the allurement of material benedictions is another trap to entangle one in this material world. He therefore frankly tells the Lord that the Lord’s offerings of benedictions in the form of material facilities are certainly causes for bewilderment. A pure devotee is not at all interested in bhukti or mukti. The Lord sometimes offers benedictions to the neophyte devotees who have not yet understood that material facilities will not make them happy. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta the Lord therefore says that a sincere devotee who is not very intelligent may ask some material benefit from the Lord, but the Lord, being omniscient, does not generally give material rewards but, on the contrary, takes away whatever material facilities are being enjoyed by His devotee, so that ultimately the devotee will completely surrender unto Him. In other words, the offering of benedictions in the form of material profit is never auspicious for the devotee. The statements of the Vedas which offer elevation to heavenly planets in exchange for great sacrifices are simply bewildering. Therefore in Bhagavad-gītā (2.42) the Lord says: yām imāṁ puṣpitāṁ vācaṁ pravadanty avipaścitaḥ. The less intelligent class of men (avipaścitaḥ), attracted by the flowery language of the Vedas, engage in fruitive activities to become materially benefited. Thus they continue life after life, in different bodily forms, to search very, very hard. |
TEXT 31 TvNMaaYaYaaÖa JaNa wRXa %i<@Taae YadNYadaXaaSTa ‰TaaTMaNaae_buDa" ) YaQaa creØal/ihTa& iPaTaa SvYa& TaQaa TvMaevahRiSa Na" SaMaqihTauMa( )) 31 )) tvan-māyayāddhā jana īśa khaṇḍito yad anyad āśāsta ṛtātmano ’budhaḥ yathā cared bāla-hitaṁ pitā svayaṁ tathā tvam evārhasi naḥ samīhitum SYNONYMS tvat—Your; māyayā—by illusory energy; addhā—certainly; janaḥ—the people in general; īśa—O my Lord; khaṇḍitaḥ—separated; yat—because; anyat—other; āśāste—they desire; ṛta—real; ātmanaḥ—from the self; abudhaḥ—without proper understanding; yathā—as; caret—would engage in; bāla-hitam—the welfare of one’s child; pitā—the father; svayam—personally; tathā—similarly; tvam—Your Lordship; eva—certainly; arhasi naḥ samīhitum—please act on my behalf. TRANSLATION My Lord, due to Your illusory energy, all living beings in this material world have forgotten their real constitutional position, and out of ignorance they are always desirous of material happiness in the form of society, friendship and love. Therefore, please do not ask me to take some material benefits from You, but as a father, not waiting for the son’s demand, does everything for the benefit of the son, please bestow upon me whatever You think best for me. PURPORT It is the duty of the son to depend upon his father without asking anything from him. The good son has faith that the father knows best how to benefit him. Similarly, a pure devotee does not ask anything from the Lord for material benefit. Nor does he ask anything for spiritual benefit. The pure devotee is fully surrendered unto the lotus feet of the Lord, and the Lord takes charge of him, as stated in Bhagavad-gītā (18.66): ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi. The father knows the necessities of the son and supplies them, and the Supreme Lord knows the necessities of the living entities and supplies them sumptuously. Therefore the Īśopaniṣad states that everything in this material world is complete (pūrṇam idam [Īśopaniṣad, Invocation]). The difficulty is that due to forgetfulness the living entities create unnecessary demands and entangle themselves in material activities. The result is that there is no end to material activities, life after life. Before us there are varieties of living entities, and everyone is entangled in transmigrations and activities. Our duty is simply to surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead and let Him take charge, for He knows what is good for us. Pṛthu Mahārāja therefore tells the Lord that, as the supreme father, He may elect to bestow whatever He considers beneficial for Pṛthu Mahārāja. That is the perfect position of the living entity. Therefore Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu teaches us in His Śikṣāṣṭaka: na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ kavitāṁ vā jagad-īśa kāmaye mama janmani janmanīśvare bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi “O Almighty Lord! I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor have I any desire to enjoy beautiful women, nor do I want any number of followers. I only want Your causeless devotional service in my life, birth after birth.” The conclusion is that the pure devotee should not aspire after any material benefit from devotional service, nor should he be enamored by fruitive activities or philosophical speculation. He should always be engaged favorably in the service of the Lord. That is the highest perfection of life. |
MaE}aeYa ovac wTYaaidraJaeNa NauTa" Sa ivìd*k( TaMaah raJaNa( MaiYa >ai¢-rSTau Tae ) idíyed*Xaq DaqMaRiYa Tae k*-Taa YaYaa MaaYaa& MadqYaa& TariTa SMa duSTYaJaaMa( )) 32 )) maitreya uvāca ity ādi-rājena nutaḥ sa viśva-dṛk tam āha rājan mayi bhaktir astu te diṣṭyedṛśī dhīr mayi te kṛtā yayā māyāṁ madīyāṁ tarati sma dustyajām SYNONYMS maitreyaḥ—Maitreya, the great sage; uvāca—spoke; iti—thus; ādi-rājena—by the original king (Pṛthu); nutaḥ—being worshiped; saḥ—He (the Supreme Personality of Godhead); viśva-dṛk—the seer of the whole universe; tam—unto him; āha—said; rājan—my dear King; mayi—unto Me; bhaktiḥ—devotional service; astu—let it be; te—your; diṣṭyā—by good fortune; īdṛśī—like this; dhīḥ—intelligence; mayi—unto Me; te—by you; kṛtā—having been performed; yayā—by which; māyām—illusory energy; madīyām—My; tarati—crosses over; sma—certainly; dustyajām—very difficult to give up. TRANSLATION The great sage Maitreya continued by saying that the Lord, the seer of the universe, after hearing Pṛthu Mahārāja’s prayer, addressed the King: My dear King, may you always be blessed by engaging in My devotional service. Only by such purity of purpose, as you yourself very intelligently express, can one cross over the insurmountable illusory energy of māyā. PURPORT This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā, wherein the Lord also claims that the illusory energy is insurmountable. No one can transcend the illusory energy of māyā by fruitive activity, speculative philosophy or mystic yoga. The only means for transcending illusory energy is devotional service, as the Lord Himself states: mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te (Bg. 7.14). If one wants to cross over the ocean of material existence, there is no alternative than to take to devotional service. A devotee, therefore, should not care for any material position, whether in heaven or in hell. A pure devotee should always engage in the service of the Lord, for that is his real occupation. Simply by sticking to that position, one can overcome the stringent laws of material nature. |
TEXT 33 Tatv& ku-å MaYaaidíMaPa[Mata" Pa[JaaPaTae ) MadadeXak-rae l/aek-" SavR}aaPanaeiTa Xaae>aNaMa( )) 33 )) tat tvaṁ kuru mayādiṣṭam apramattaḥ prajāpate mad-ādeśa-karo lokaḥ sarvatrāpnoti śobhanam SYNONYMS tat—therefore; tvam—you; kuru—do; mayā—by Me; ādiṣṭam—what is ordered; apramattaḥ—without being misguided; prajā-pate—O master of the citizens; mat—of Me; ādeśa-karaḥ—who executes the order; lokaḥ—any person; sarvatra—everywhere; āpnoti—achieves; śobhanam—all good fortune. TRANSLATION My dear King, O protector of the citizens, henceforward be very careful to execute My orders and not be misled by anything. Anyone who lives in that way, simply carrying out My orders faithfully, will always find good fortune all over the world. PURPORT The sum and substance of religious life is to execute the orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and one who does so is perfectly religious. In Bhagavad-gītā (18.65) the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa says, man-manā bhava mad-bhaktaḥ: “Just think of Me always and become My devotee.” Furthermore, the Lord says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja: “Give up all kinds of material engagement and simply surrender unto Me.” (Bg. 18.66) This is the primary principle of religion. Anyone who directly executes such an order from the personality of Godhead is actually a religious person. Others are described as pretenders, for there are many activities going on throughout the world in the name of religion which are not actually religious. For one who executes the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, however, there is only good fortune throughout the world. |
TEXT 7 Sa WvMaadqNYaNavÛceiíTa" k-MaaRi<a >aUYaa&iSa MahaNMahtaMa" ) ku-vRNa( XaXaaSaaviNaMa<@l&/ YaXa" Sf-ITa& iNaDaaYaaååhe Par& PadMa( )) 7 )) sa evam ādīny anavadya-ceṣṭitaḥ karmāṇi bhūyāṁsi mahān mahattamaḥ kurvan śaśāsāvani-maṇḍalaṁ yaśaḥ sphītaṁ nidhāyāruruhe paraṁ padam SYNONYMS saḥ—King Pṛthu; evam—thus; ādīni—from the very beginning; anavadya—magnanimous; ceṣṭitaḥ—performing various works; karmāṇi—work; bhūyāṁsi—repeatedly; mahān—great; mahat-tamaḥ—greater than the greatest; kurvan—performing; śaśāsa—ruled; avani-maṇḍalam—the surface of the earth; yaśaḥ—reputation; sphītam—widespread; nidhāya—achieving; āruruhe—was elevated; param padam—to the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord. TRANSLATION King Pṛthu was greater than the greatest soul and was therefore worshipable by everyone. He performed many glorious activities in ruling over the surface of the world and was always magnanimous. After achieving such great success and a reputation which spread throughout the universe, he at last obtained the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. PURPORT A responsible king or chief executive has many responsible duties to attend to in ruling over the citizens. The most important duty of the monarch or the government is to perform various sacrifices as enjoined in the Vedic literatures. The next duty of the king is to see that every citizen executes the prescribed duties for his particular community. It is the king’s duty to see that everyone perfectly executes the duties prescribed for the varṇa and āśrama divisions of society. Besides that, as exemplified by King Pṛthu, he must develop the earth for the greatest possible production of food grains. There are different types of great personalities—some are positive great personalities, some comparative and some superlative—but King Pṛthu exceeded all of them. He is therefore described here as mahattamaḥ, greater than the greatest. Mahārāja Pṛthu was a kṣatriya, and he discharged his kṣatriya duties perfectly. Similarly, brāhmaṇas, vaiśyas and śūdras can discharge their respective duties perfectly and thus at the ultimate end of life be promoted to the transcendental world, which is called paraṁ padam. Paraṁ padam, or the Vaikuṇṭha planets, can be achieved only by devotional service. The impersonal Brahman region is also called paraṁ padam, but unless one is attached to the personality of Godhead one must again fall down to the material world from the impersonal paraṁ padam situation. It is said, therefore, āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ: [SB 10.2.32] the impersonalists endeavor very strenuously to achieve the paraṁ padam, or impersonal brahmajyoti, but unfortunately, being bereft of a relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they come down again to the material world. If one flies in outer space, he can go very high up, but unless he reaches a planet he must come down again to earth. Similarly, because the impersonalists who reach the paraṁ padam of the impersonal brahmajyoti do not enter into the Vaikuṇṭha planets, they come down again to this material world and are given shelter in one of the material planets. Although they may attain Brahmaloka, or Satyaloka, all such planets are situated in the material world. |
TEXT 12 SavR}aaS%il/TaadeXa" SaáÜqPaEk-d<@Da*k( ) ANYa}a b]aø<aku-l/adNYa}aaCYauTaGaae}aTa" )) 12 )) sarvatrāskhalitādeśaḥ sapta-dvīpaika-daṇḍa-dhṛk anyatra brāhmaṇa-kulād anyatrācyuta-gotrataḥ SYNONYMS sarvatra—everywhere; askhalita—irrevocable; ādeśaḥ—order; sapta-dvīpa—seven islands; eka—one; daṇḍa-dhṛk—the ruler who holds the scepter; anyatra—except; brāhmaṇa-kulāt—brāhmaṇas and saintly persons; anyatra—except; acyuta-gotrataḥ—descendants of the Supreme Personality of Godhead (Vaiṣṇavas). TRANSLATION Mahārāja Pṛthu was an unrivaled king and possessed the scepter for ruling all the seven islands on the surface of the globe. No one could disobey his irrevocable orders but the saintly persons, the brāhmaṇas and the descendants of the Supreme Personality of Godhead [the Vaiṣṇavas]. PURPORT Sapta-dvīpa refers to the seven great islands or continents on the surface of the globe: (1) Asia, (2) Europe, (3) Africa, (4) North America, (5) South America, (6) Australia and (7) Oceania. In the modern age people are under the impression that during the Vedic period or the prehistoric ages America and many other parts of the world had not been discovered, but that is not a fact. Pṛthu Mahārāja ruled over the world many thousands of years before the so-called prehistoric age, and it is clearly mentioned here that in those days not only were all the different parts of the world known, but they were ruled by one king, Mahārāja Pṛthu. The country where Pṛthu Mahārāja resided must have been India because it is stated in the eleventh verse of this chapter that he lived in the tract of land between the rivers Ganges and Yamunā. This tract of land, which is called Brahmāvarta, consists of what is known in the modern age as portions of Punjab and northern India. It is clear that the kings of India once ruled all the world and that their culture was Vedic. The word askhalita indicates that orders by the king could not be disobeyed by anyone in the entire world. Such orders, however, were never issued to control saintly persons or the descendants of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu. The Supreme Lord is known as Acyuta, and Lord Kṛṣṇa is addressed as such by Arjuna in Bhagavad-gītā (senayor ubhayor madhye rathaṁ sthāpaya me ’cyuta). Acyuta refers to one who does not fall because He is never influenced by the modes of material nature. When a living entity falls down to the material world from his original position, he becomes cyuta, which means that he forgets his relationship with Acyuta. Actually every living entity is a part and parcel, or a son, of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When influenced by the modes of material nature, a living entity forgets this relationship and thinks in terms of different species of life; but when he again comes to his original consciousness, he does not observe such bodily designations. This is indicated in Bhagavad-gītā (5.18) by the words paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ. Material designations create differentiation in terms of caste, color, creed, nationality, etc. Different gotras, or family designations, are distinctions in terms of the material body, but when one comes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness he immediately becomes one of the Acyuta-gotra, or descendants of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and thus becomes transcendental to all considerations of caste, creed, color and nationality. Pṛthu Mahārāja had no control over the brāhmaṇa-kula, which refers to the learned scholars in Vedic knowledge, nor over the Vaiṣṇavas, who are above the considerations of Vedic knowledge. It is therefore said: arcye viṣṇau śilā-dhīr guruṣu nara-matir vaiṣṇave jāti-buddhir viṣṇor vā vaiṣṇavānāṁ kali-mala-mathane pāda-tīrthe ’mbu-buddhiḥ śrī-viṣṇor nāmni mantre sakala-kaluṣa-he śabda-sāmānya-buddhir viṣṇau sarveśvareśe tad-itara-sama-dhīr yasya vā nārakī saḥ “One who thinks the Deity in the temple to be made of wood or stone, who thinks of the spiritual master in the disciplic succession as an ordinary man, who thinks the Vaiṣṇava in the Acyuta-gotra to belong to a certain caste or creed or who thinks of caraṇāmṛta or Ganges water as ordinary water is taken to be a resident of hell.” (Padma Purāṇa) From the facts presented in this verse, it appears that people in general should be controlled by a king until they come to the platform of Vaiṣṇavas and brāhmaṇas, who are not under the control of anyone. Brāhmaṇa refers to one who knows Brahman, or the impersonal feature of the Absolute Truth, and a Vaiṣṇava is one who serves the Supreme Personality of Godhead. |
TEXT 22 Ah& d<@Darae raJaa Pa[JaaNaaiMah YaaeiJaTa" ) ri+aTaa v*itad" Svezu SaeTauzu SQaaiPaTaa Pa*Qak(- )) 22 )) ahaṁ daṇḍa-dharo rājā prajānām iha yojitaḥ rakṣitā vṛttidaḥ sveṣu setuṣu sthāpitā pṛthak SYNONYMS aham—I; daṇḍa-dharaḥ—carrier of the scepter; rājā—king; prajānām—of the citizens; iha—in this world; yojitaḥ—engaged; rakṣitā—protector; vṛtti-daḥ—employer; sveṣu—in their own; setuṣu—respective social orders; sthāpitā—established; pṛthak—differently. TRANSLATION King Pṛthu continued: By the grace of the Supreme Lord I have been appointed the king of this planet, and I carry the scepter to rule the citizens, protect them from all danger and give them employment according to their respective positions in the social order established by Vedic injunction. PURPORT A king is supposed to be appointed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead to look after the interests of his particular planet. On every planet there is a predominating person, just as we now see that in every country there is a president. If one is president or king, it should be understood that this opportunity has been given to him by the Supreme Lord. According to the Vedic system, the king is considered a representative of Godhead and is offered respects by the citizens as God in the human form of life. Actually, according to Vedic information, the Supreme Lord maintains all living entities, and especially human beings, to elevate them to the highest perfection. After many, many births in lower species, when a living entity evolves to the human form of life and in particular to the civilized human form of life, his society must be divided into four gradations, as ordered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead in Bhagavad-gītā (cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭam, etc. [Bg. 4.13]). The four social orders—the brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and śūdras—are natural divisions of human society, and as declared by Pṛthu Mahārāja, every man in his respective social order must have proper employment for his livelihood. It is the duty of the king or the government to insure that the people observe the social order and that they are also employed in their respective occupational duties. In modern times, since the protection of the government or the king has been withdrawn, social order has practically collapsed. No one knows who is a brāhmaṇa, who is a kṣatriya, who is a vaiśya or who is a śūdra, and people claim to belong to a particular social order by birthright only. It is the duty of the government to reestablish social order in terms of occupational duties and the modes of material nature, for that will make the entire world population actually civilized. If it does not observe the institutional functions of the four social orders, human society is no better than animal society in which there is never tranquillity, peace and prosperity but only chaos and confusion. Mahārāja Pṛthu, as an ideal king, strictly observed the maintenance of the Vedic social order. Prajāyate iti prajā. The word prajā refers to one who takes birth. Therefore Pṛthu Mahārāja guaranteed protection for prajānām—all living entities who took birth in his kingdom. Prajā refers not only to human beings but also to animals, trees and every other living entity. It is the duty of the king to give all living entities protection and food. The fools and rascals of modern society have no knowledge of the extent of the responsibility of the government. Animals are also citizens of the land in which they happen to be born, and they also have the right to continue their existence at the cost of the Supreme Lord. The disturbance of the animal population by wholesale slaughter produces a catastrophic future reaction for the butcher, his land and his government. |
TEXT 23 TaSYa Mae TadNauïaNaaÛaNaahub]RøvaidNa" ) l/aek-a" SYau" k-aMaSaNdaeha YaSYa TauZYaiTa idíd*k(- )) 23 )) tasya me tad-anuṣṭhānād yān āhur brahma-vādinaḥ lokāḥ syuḥ kāma-sandohā yasya tuṣyati diṣṭa-dṛk SYNONYMS tasya—his; me—mine; tat—that; anuṣṭhānāt—by executing; yān—that which; āhuḥ—is spoken; brahma-vādinaḥ—by the experts in Vedic knowledge; lokāḥ—planets; syuḥ—become; kāma-sandohāḥ—fulfilling one’s desirable objectives; yasya—whose; tuṣyati—becomes satisfied; diṣṭa-dṛk—the seer of all destiny. TRANSLATION Mahārāja Pṛthu said: I think that upon the execution of my duties as king, I shall be able to achieve the desirable objectives described by experts in Vedic knowledge. This destination is certainly achieved by the pleasure of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the seer of all destiny. PURPORT Mahārāja Pṛthu gives special stress to the word brahma-vādinaḥ (“by the experts in the Vedic knowledge”). Brahma refers to the Vedas, which are also known as śabda-brahma, or transcendental sound. Transcendental sound is not ordinary language, although it appears to be written in ordinary language. Evidence from the Vedic literature should be accepted as final authority. In the Vedic literature there is much information, and of course there is information about the execution of a king’s duty. A responsible king who executes his appointed duty by giving proper protection to all living entities on his planet is promoted to the heavenly planetary system. This is also dependent upon the pleasure of the Supreme Lord. It is not that if one executes his duty properly he is automatically promoted, for promotion depends upon the satisfaction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It must ultimately be concluded that one can achieve the desired result of his activities upon satisfying the Supreme Lord. This is also confirmed in the First Canto, Second Chapter, of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: (SB 1.2.13) ataḥ pumbhir dvija-śreṣṭhā varṇāśrama-vibhāgaśaḥ svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam The perfection of one’s execution of his appointed duties is the ultimate satisfaction of the Supreme Lord. The word kāma-sandohāḥ means “achievement of the desired result.” Everyone desires to achieve the ultimate goal of life, but in modern civilization the great scientists think that man’s life has no plan. This gross ignorance is very dangerous and makes civilization very risky. People do not know the laws of nature, which are the rulings of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Because they are atheists of the first order, they have no faith in the existence of God and His rulings and therefore do not know how nature is working. This gross ignorance of the mass of people, including even the so-called scientists and philosophers, makes life a risky situation in which human beings do not know whether they are making progress in life. According to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.5.30), they are simply progressing to the darkest region of material existence. Adānta-gobhir viśatāṁ tamisram. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement has therefore been started to give philosophers, scientists, and people in general the proper knowledge about the destiny of life. Everyone should take advantage of this movement and learn the real goal of life. |
TEXT 25 TaTa( Pa[Jaa >aTa*RiPa<@aQa| SvaQaRMaevaNaSaUYav" ) ku-åTaaDaae+aJaiDaYaSTaihR Mae_NauGa]h" k*-Ta" )) 25 )) tat prajā bhartṛ-piṇḍārthaṁ svārtham evānasūyavaḥ kurutādhokṣaja-dhiyas tarhi me ’nugrahaḥ kṛtaḥ SYNONYMS tat—therefore; prajāḥ—my dear citizens; bhartṛ—of the master; piṇḍa-artham—welfare after death; sva-artham—own interest; eva—certainly; anasūyavaḥ—without being envious; kuruta—just execute; adhokṣaja—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; dhiyaḥ—thinking of Him; tarhi—therefore; me—unto me; anugrahaḥ—mercy; kṛtaḥ—being done. TRANSLATION Pṛthu Mahārāja continued: Therefore, my dear citizens, for the welfare of your king after his death, you should execute your duties properly in terms of your positions of varṇa and āśrama and should always think of the Supreme Personality of Godhead within your hearts. By doing so, you will protect your own interests, and you will bestow mercy upon your king for his welfare after death. PURPORT The words adhokṣaja-dhiyaḥ, meaning “Kṛṣṇa consciousness,” are very important in this verse. The king and citizens should both be Kṛṣṇa conscious, otherwise both of them will be doomed to lower species of life after death. A responsible government must teach Kṛṣṇa consciousness very vigorously for the benefit of all. Without Kṛṣṇa consciousness, neither the state nor the citizens of the state can be responsible. Pṛthu Mahārāja therefore specifically requested the citizens to act in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and he was also very anxious to teach them how to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. A summary of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is given in Bhagavad-gītā (9.27): yat karoṣi yad aśnāsi yaj juhoṣi dadāsi yat yat tapasyasi kaunteya tat kuruṣva mad-arpaṇam “Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you give in charity and whatever penances you undergo should be done in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or for the satisfaction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” If all the people of the state, including the government servants, are taught the techniques of spiritual life, then although everyone is liable to be punished in different ways by the stringent laws of material nature, they will not be implicated. |
AiSTa YajPaiTaNaaRMa ke-zaiÄdhRSataMaa" ) whaMau}a c l/+YaNTae JYaaeTòavTYa" Kvicd(>auv" )) 27 )) asti yajña-patir nāma keṣāñcid arha-sattamāḥ ihāmutra ca lakṣyante jyotsnāvatyaḥ kvacid bhuvaḥ SYNONYMS asti—there must be; yajña-patiḥ—the enjoyer of all sacrifices; nāma—of the name; keṣāñcit—in the opinion of some; arha-sattamāḥ—O most respectable; iha—in this material world; amutra—after death; ca—also; lakṣyante—it is visible; jyotsnā-vatyaḥ—powerful, beautiful; kvacit—somewhere; bhuvaḥ—bodies. TRANSLATION My dear respectable ladies and gentlemen, according to the authoritative statements of śāstra, there must be a supreme authority who is able to award the respective benefits of our present activities. Otherwise, why should there be persons who are unusually beautiful and powerful both in this life and in the life after death? PURPORT Pṛthu Mahārāja’s sole aim in ruling his kingdom was to raise the citizens to the standard of God consciousness. Since there was a great assembly in the arena of sacrifice, there were different types of men present, but he was especially interested in speaking to those who were not atheists. It has already been explained in the previous verses that Pṛthu Mahārāja advised the citizens to become adhokṣaja-dhiyaḥ, which means God conscious, or Kṛṣṇa conscious, and in this verse he specifically presents the authority of śāstra, even though his father was a number one atheist who did not abide by the injunctions mentioned in the Vedic śāstras, who practically stopped all sacrificial performances and who so disgusted the brāhmaṇas that they not only dethroned him but cursed and killed him. Atheistic men do not believe in the existence of God, and thus they understand everything which is happening in our daily affairs to be due to physical arrangement and chance. Atheists believe in the atheistic Sāṅkhya philosophy of the combination of prakṛti and puruṣa. They believe only in matter and hold that matter under certain conditions of amalgamation gives rise to the living force, which then appears as puruṣa, the enjoyer; then, by a combination of matter and the living force, the many varieties of material manifestation come into existence. Nor do atheists believe in the injunctions of the Vedas. According to them, all the Vedic injunctions are simply theories that have no practical application in life. Taking all this into consideration, Pṛthu Mahārāja suggested that theistic men will solidly reject the views of the atheists on the grounds that there cannot be many varieties of existence without the plan of a superior intelligence. Atheists very vaguely explain that these varieties of existence occur simply by chance, but the theists who believe in the injunctions of the Vedas must reach all their conclusions under the direction of the Vedas. In the Viṣṇu Purāṇa it is said that the entire varṇāśrama institution is meant to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The rules and regulations set up for the execution of the duties of brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and śūdras or brahmacārīs, gṛhasthas, vānaprasthas and sannyāsīs are all meant to satisfy the Supreme Lord. At the present moment, although the so-called brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and śūdras have lost their original culture, they claim to be brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and śūdras by birthright. Yet they have rejected the proposition that such social and spiritual orders are especially meant for worship of Lord Viṣṇu. The dangerous Māyāvāda theory set forth by Śaṅkarācārya—that God is impersonal—does not tally with the injunctions of the Vedas. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore described the Māyāvādī philosophers as the greatest offenders against the Personality of Godhead. According to the Vedic system, one who does not abide by the orders of the Vedas is called a nāstika, or atheist. When Lord Buddha preached his theory of nonviolence, he was obliged to deny the authority of the Vedas, and for this reason he was considered by the followers of the Vedas to be a nāstika. But although Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu very clearly enunciated that the followers of Lord Buddha’s philosophy are nāstikas, or atheists, because of their denial of the authority of the Vedas, He considered the Śaṅkarites, who wanted to establish Vedic authority by trickery and who actually followed the Māyāvāda philosophy of Buddha’s school, to be more dangerous than the Buddhists themselves. The Śaṅkarite philosophers’ theory that we have to imagine a shape of God is more dangerous than denial of the existence of God. Notwithstanding all the philosophical theorizing by atheists or Māyāvādīs, the followers of Kṛṣṇa consciousness rigidly live according to the injunctions given in Bhagavad-gītā, which is accepted as the essence of all Vedic scripture. In Bhagavad-gītā (18.46) it is said: yataḥ pravṛttir bhūtānāṁ yena sarvam idaṁ tatam sva-karmaṇā tam abhyarcya siddhiṁ vindati mānavaḥ “By worship of the Lord, who is the source of all beings and who is all-pervading, man can, in the performance of his own duty, attain perfection.” This indicates that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the original source of everything, as described in the Vedānta-sūtra (janmādy asya yataḥ [SB 1.1.1]). The Lord Himself also confirms in Bhagavad-gītā, ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ: “I am the origin of everything.” The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the original source of all emanations, and at the same time, as Paramātmā, He is spread all over existence. The Absolute Truth is therefore the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and every living being is meant to satisfy the Supreme Godhead by performing his respective duty (sva-karmaṇā tam abhyarcya). Mahārāja Pṛthu wanted to introduce this formula amongst his citizens. The most important point in human civilization is that while one engages in different occupational duties, he must try to satisfy the Supreme Lord by the execution of such duties. That is the highest perfection of life. Svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam: [SB 1.2.13] by discharging one’s prescribed duty, one can become very successful in life if he simply satisfies the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The vivid example is Arjuna. He was a kṣatriya, his duty was to fight, and by executing his prescribed duty he satisfied the Supreme Lord and therefore became perfect. Everyone should follow this principle. The atheists, who do not, are condemned in Bhagavad-gītā (16.19) by the following statement: tān ahaṁ dviṣataḥ krūrān saṁsāreṣu narādhamān. In this verse it is clearly said that persons who are envious of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are the lowest of mankind and are very mischievous. Under the regulative principles of the Supreme, such mischievous persons are thrown into the darkest region of material existence and are born of asuras, or atheists. Birth after birth, such asuras go still further down, finally to animal forms like those of tigers or similar ferocious beasts. Thus for millions of years they have to remain in darkness without knowledge of Kṛṣṇa. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is known as Puruṣottama, or the best of all living entities. He is a person like all other living entities, but He is the leader or the best of all living beings. That is stated in the Vedas also. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām. He is the chief of all eternals, the chief of all living entities, and He is complete and full. He has no need to derive benefit by interfering with the affairs of other living entities, but because He is the maintainer of all, He has the right to bring them to the proper standard so that all living entities may become happy. A father wants all of his children to become happy under his direction. Similarly, God, or Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has the right to see that all living entities are happy. There is no possibility of becoming happy within this material world. The father and the sons are eternal, but if a living entity does not come to the platform of his eternal life of bliss and knowledge, there is no question of happiness. Although Puruṣottama, the best of all living entities, has no benefit to derive from the common living entities, He does have the right to discriminate between their right and wrong ways. The right way is the path of activities meant to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as we have already discussed (svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam [SB 1.2.13]). A living entity may engage in any occupational duty, but if he wants to have perfection in his duties, he must satisfy the Supreme Lord. As such, one who pleases Him gets better facilities for living, but one who displeases Him gets involved in undesirable situations. It is therefore concluded that there are two kinds of duties—mundane duty and duty performed for the sake of yajña, or sacrifice (yajñārthāt karma). Any karma (activity) one performs which is not for the purpose of yajña is a cause of bondage. Yajñārthāt karmaṇo’nyatra loko’yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ: “Work done as a sacrifice for Viṣṇu has to be performed, otherwise work binds one to this material world.” (Bg. 3.9) Karma-bandhanaḥ, or the bondage of karma, is administered under the regulations of the stringent laws of material nature. Material existence is a struggle to conquer the impediments put forth by material nature. The asuras are always fighting to overcome these impediments, and by the illusory power of material nature the foolish living entities work very hard within this material world and take this to be happiness. This is called māyā. In that hard struggle for existence, they deny the existence of the supreme authority, Puruṣottama, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In order to regulate the activities of the living entities, God has given us codes, just as a king gives codes of law in a state, and whoever breaks the law is punished. Similarly, the Lord has given the infallible knowledge of the Vedas, which are not contaminated by the four defects of human life—namely the tendency to commit mistakes, to be illusioned, to cheat and to have imperfect senses. If we do not take direction from the Vedas but act whimsically according to our own choice, we are sure to be punished by the laws of the Lord, who offers different types of bodies in the 8,400,000 species of forms. Material existence, or the sense gratification process, is conducted according to the type of body we are given by prakṛti, or material nature. As such, there must be divisions of pious and impious activities (puṇya and pāpa). In Bhagavad-gītā (7.28) it is clearly stated: yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā bhajante māṁ dṛḍha-vratāḥ “One who has completely surpassed the resultant activities of the impious path of life [this is possible only when one engages exclusively in pious activities] can understand his eternal relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus one engages in the Lord’s transcendental loving service.” This life of engaging always in the loving service of the Lord is called adhokṣaja-dhiyaḥ, or a life of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which King Pṛthu meant his citizens to follow. The different varieties of life and of material existence do not come about by chance and necessity; they are different arrangements made by the Supreme Lord in terms of the pious and impious activities of the living entities. By performing pious activities one can take birth in a good family in a good nation, one can get a beautiful body or can become very well educated or very rich. We see, therefore, that in different places and in different planets there are different standards of life, bodily features and educational statuses, all awarded by the Supreme Personality of Godhead according to pious or impious activities. Varieties of life, therefore, develop not by chance but by prearrangement. There is a plan, which is already outlined in the Vedic knowledge. One has to take advantage of this knowledge and mold his life in such a way that at the end, especially in the human form of life, he may go back home, back to Godhead, by practicing Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The theory of chance can best be explained in the Vedic literature by the words ajñāta-sukṛti, which refer to pious activities performed without the actor’s knowledge. But these are also planned. For example, Kṛṣṇa comes like an ordinary human being, He comes as a devotee like Lord Caitanya, or He sends His representative, the spiritual master, or pure devotee. This is also the planned activity of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They come to canvass and educate, and thus a person in the illusory energy of the Supreme Lord gets a chance to mix with them, talk with them and take lessons from them, and somehow or other if a conditioned soul surrenders to such personalities and by intimate association with them chances to become Kṛṣṇa conscious, he is saved from the material conditions of life. Kṛṣṇa therefore instructs: sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ “Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.” (Bg. 18.66) The word sarva-pāpebhyaḥ means “from all sinful activities.” A person who surrenders unto Him by utilizing the chance to associate with the pure devotee, spiritual master or other authorized incarnations of Godhead, like Pṛthu Mahārāja, is saved by Kṛṣṇa. Then his life becomes successful. |
TEXT 52 NaMaae ivv*ÖSatvaYa PauåzaYa MahqYaSae ) Yaae b]ø +a}aMaaivXYa ib>aTasd& SvTaeJaSaa )) 52 )) namo vivṛddha-sattvāya puruṣāya mahīyase yo brahma kṣatram āviśya bibhartīdaṁ sva-tejasā SYNONYMS namaḥ—all obeisances; vivṛddha—highly elevated; sattvāya—unto the existence; puruṣāya—unto the person; mahīyase—unto one who is so glorified; yaḥ—who; brahma—brahminical culture; kṣatram—administrative duty; āviśya—entering; bibharti—maintaining; idam—this; sva-tejasā—by his own prowess. TRANSLATION Dear lord, you are situated in your pure existential position of goodness; therefore you are the perfect representative of the Supreme Lord. You are glorified by your own prowess, and thus you are maintaining the entire world by introducing brahminical culture and protecting everyone in your line of duty as a kṣatriya. PURPORT Without the spread of brahminical culture and without proper protection from the government, no social standard can be maintained properly. This is admitted in this verse by the citizens of Mahārāja Pṛthu, who could maintain the wonderful situation of his government due to his position in pure goodness. The word vivṛddha-sattvāya is significant. In the material world there are three qualities—namely goodness, passion and ignorance. One has to be raised from the platform of ignorance to the platform of goodness by devotional service. There is no other means for elevating one from the lowest stage of life to the highest stage but the execution of devotional service; as advised in the previous chapters of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, one can raise himself from the lowest position to the highest simply by associating with devotees and hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam regularly from their mouths. śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ hṛdy antaḥ-stho hy abhadrāṇi vidhunoti suhṛt satām “When one engages in devotional service in the first stages of hearing and chanting, the Lord, who is in everyone’s heart, helps the devotee in cleansing his heart.” (Bhāg. 1.2.17) In the gradual cleansing process, one is relieved of the influence of passion and ignorance and is situated on the platform of goodness. The result of association with the qualities of passion and ignorance is that one becomes lusty and greedy. But when one is elevated to the platform of goodness, he is satisfied in any condition of life and is without lust and greed. This mentality indicates one’s situation on the platform of goodness. One has to transcend this goodness and raise himself to the pure goodness called vivṛddha-sattva, or the advanced stage of goodness. In the advanced stage of goodness one can become Kṛṣṇa conscious. Therefore Mahārāja Pṛthu is addressed here as vivṛddha-sattva, or one who is situated in the transcendental position. But Mahārāja Pṛthu, although situated in the transcendental position of a pure devotee, came down to the position of brāhmaṇa and kṣatriya for the benefit of human society and thus gave protection to the entire world by his personal prowess. Although he was a king, a kṣatriya, because he was a Vaiṣṇava he was also a brāhmaṇa. As a brāhmaṇa he could give proper instruction to the citizens, and as a kṣatriya he could rightly give protection to all of them. Thus the citizens of Mahārāja Pṛthu were protected in all respects by the perfect king. Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Fourth Canto, Twenty-first Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “Instructions by Mahārāja Pṛthu.” |
TEXT 3 TaÕXaRNaaeÓTaaNa( Pa[a<aaNa( Pa[TYaaidTSauirvaeiTQaTa" ) SaSadSYaaNauGaae vENYa wiNd]YaeXaae Gau<aaiNav )) 3 )) tad-darśanodgatān prāṇān pratyāditsur ivotthitaḥ sa-sadasyānugo vainya indriyeśo guṇān iva SYNONYMS tat—him; darśana—seeing; udgatān—being greatly desired; prāṇān—life; pratyāditsuḥ—peacefully going; iva—like; utthitaḥ—got up; sa—with; sadasya—associates or followers; anugaḥ—officers; vainyaḥ—King Pṛthu; indriya-īśaḥ—a living entity; guṇān iva—as influenced by the modes of material nature. TRANSLATION Seeing the four Kumāras, Pṛthu Mahārāja was greatly anxious to receive them. Therefore the King, with all his officers, very hastily got up, as anxiously as a conditioned soul whose senses are immediately attracted by the modes of material nature. PURPORT In Bhagavad-gītā (3.27) it is said: prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate Every conditioned soul is influenced by a particular mixture of the modes of material nature. As such, the conditioned soul is attracted to certain types of activity which he is forced to perform because he is completely under the influence of material nature. Here Pṛthu Mahārāja is compared to such a conditioned soul, not because he was a conditioned soul but because he was so anxious to receive the Kumāras that it was as if without them he would have lost his life. The conditioned soul is attracted by the objects of sense gratification. His eyes are attracted to see beautiful things, his ears are attracted to hear nice music, his nose is attracted to enjoy the aroma of a nice flower, and his tongue is attracted to taste nice food. Similarly, all his other senses—his hands, his legs, his belly, his genitals, his mind, etc.—are so susceptible to the attraction of the objects of enjoyment that he cannot restrain himself. Pṛthu Mahārāja, in the same way, could not restrain himself from receiving the four Kumāras, who were bright by dint of their spiritual progress, and thus not only he himself but also his officers and associates all received the four Kumāras. It is said, “Birds of a feather flock together.” In this world, everyone is attracted by a person of the same category. A drunkard is attracted to persons who are also drunkards. Similarly, a saintly person is attracted by other saintly persons. Pṛthu Mahārāja was in the topmost position of spiritual advancement, and as such, he was attracted by the Kumāras, who were of the same category. It is said, therefore, that a man is known by his company. |
TEXT 7 Pa*Qauåvac Ahae AacirTa& ik&- Mae Ma(r)l&/ Ma(r)l/aYaNaa" ) YaSYa vae dXaRNa& ùaSaqÕudRXaaRNaa& c YaaeiGai>a" )) 7 )) pṛthur uvāca aho ācaritaṁ kiṁ me maṅgalaṁ maṅgalāyanāḥ yasya vo darśanaṁ hy āsīd durdarśānāṁ ca yogibhiḥ SYNONYMS pṛthuḥ uvāca—King Pṛthu spoke; aho—O Lord; ācaritam—practice; kim—what; me—by me; maṅgalam—good fortune; maṅgala-āyanāḥ—O personified good fortune; yasya—by which; vaḥ—your; darśanam—audience; hi—certainly; āsīt—became possible; durdarśānām—visible with great difficulty; ca—also; yogibhiḥ—by great mystic yogīs. TRANSLATION King Pṛthu spoke: My dear great sages, auspiciousness personified, it is very difficult for even the mystic yogīs to see you. Indeed, you are very rarely seen. I do not know what kind of pious activity I performed for you to grace me by appearing before me without difficulty. PURPORT When something uncommon happens in one’s progressive spiritual life, it should be understood to be incurred by ajñāta-sukṛti, or pious activities beyond one’s knowledge. To see personally the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His pure devotee is not an ordinary incident. When such things happen, they should be understood to be caused by previous pious activity, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (7.28): yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām. One who is completely freed from all the resultant actions of sinful activities and who is absorbed only in pious activities can engage in devotional service. Although Mahārāja Pṛthu’s life was full of pious activities, he was wondering how his audience with the Kumāras happened. He could not imagine what kind of pious activities he had performed. This is a sign of humility on the part of King Pṛthu, whose life was so full of pious activities that even Lord Viṣṇu came to see him and predicted that the Kumāras would also come. |
TEXT 11 VYaal/al/Yad]uMaa vE TaeZvir¢-ai%l/SaMPad" ) Yad(Ga*haSTaqQaRPaadqYaPaadTaqQaRivviJaRTaa" )) 11 )) vyālālaya-drumā vai teṣv ariktākhila-sampadaḥ yad-gṛhās tīrtha-pādīya- pādatīrtha-vivarjitāḥ SYNONYMS vyāla—venomous serpents; ālaya—home; drumāḥ—tree; vai—certainly; teṣu—in those houses; arikta—abundantly; akhila—all; sampadaḥ—opulences; yat—that; gṛhāḥ—houses; tīrtha-pādīya—in relation with the feet of great saintly persons; pāda-tīrtha—the water which washed their feet; vivarjitāḥ—without. TRANSLATION On the contrary, even though full of all opulence and material prosperity, any householder’s house where the devotees of the Lord are never allowed to come in, and where there is no water for washing their feet, is to be considered a tree in which all venomous serpents live. PURPORT In this verse the word tīrtha-pādīya indicates devotees of Lord Viṣṇu, or Vaiṣṇavas. As far as brāhmaṇas are concerned, in the previous verse the mode of reception has been already described. Now, in this verse, special stress is being given to the Vaiṣṇavas. Generally the sannyāsīs, or those in the renounced order of life, take trouble to enlighten the householders. There are ekadaṇḍī sannyāsīs and tridaṇḍī sannyāsīs. The ekadaṇḍī sannyāsīs are generally followers of Śaṅkarācārya and are known as Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, whereas the tridaṇḍī sannyāsīs are followers of Vaiṣṇava ācāryas—Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya and so on—and they take trouble to enlighten the householders. Ekadaṇḍī sannyāsīs can be situated on the platform of pure Brahman because they are aware that the spirit soul is different from the body, but they are mainly impersonalists. The Vaiṣṇavas know that the Absolute Truth is the Supreme Person and that the Brahman effulgence is based on the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (14.27): brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham. The conclusion is that tīrtha-pādīya refers to Vaiṣṇavas. In the Bhāgavatam (1.13.10) there is also another reference: tīrthī-kurvanti tīrthāni. Wherever he goes, a Vaiṣṇava immediately makes that place a tīrtha, a place of pilgrimage. The Vaiṣṇava sannyāsīs travel all over the world to make every place a place of pilgrimage by the touch of their lotus feet. It is mentioned here that any house which does not receive a Vaiṣṇava in the manner already explained in the previous verse is to be considered the residential quarters of venomous serpents. It is said that around the sandalwood tree, which is a very valuable tree, there is a venomous serpent. Sandalwood is very cold, and venomous serpents, because of their poisonous teeth, are always very warm, and they take shelter of the sandalwood trees to become cooler. Similarly, there are many rich men who keep watchdogs or doormen and put up signs that say, “Do not enter,” “Trespassers not allowed,” “Beware of the dog,” etc. Sometimes in Western countries a trespasser is shot, and there is no crime in such shooting. This is the position of demoniac householders, and such houses are considered to be the residential quarters of venomous snakes. The members of such families are no better than snakes because snakes are very much envious, and when that envy is directed to the saintly persons, their position becomes more dangerous. It is said by Cāṇakya Paṇḍita that there are two envious living entities—the snake and the envious man. The envious man is more dangerous than a snake because a snake can be subdued by charming mantras or by some herbs, but an envious person cannot be pacified by any means. |
TEXT 14 >avTSau ku-Xal/Pa[én AaTMaaraMaezu NaeZYaTae ) ku-Xal/aku-Xal/a Ya}a Na SaiNTa MaiTav*taYa" )) 14 )) bhavatsu kuśala-praśna ātmārāmeṣu neṣyate kuśalākuśalā yatra na santi mati-vṛttayaḥ SYNONYMS bhavatsu—unto you; kuśala—good fortune; praśnaḥ—question; ātma-ārāmeṣu—one who is always engaged in spiritual bliss; na iṣyate—there is no need of; kuśala—good fortune; akuśalāḥ—inauspiciousness; yatra—where; na—never; santi—exists; mati-vṛttayaḥ—mental concoction. TRANSLATION Pṛthu Mahārāja continued: My dear sirs, there is no need to ask about your good and bad fortune because you are always absorbed in spiritual bliss. The mental concoction of the auspicious and inauspicious does not exist in you. PURPORT ’dvaite’ bhadrābhadra-jñāna, saba——’manodharma’ ’ei bhāla, ei manda,’——ei saba ’bhrama’ In this material world the auspicious and inauspicious are simply mental concoctions because such things exist only due to association with the material world. This is called illusion, or ātma-māyā. We think ourselves created by material nature exactly as we think ourselves experiencing so many things in a dream. The spirit soul, however, is always transcendental. There is no question of becoming materially covered. This covering is simply something like a hallucination or a dream. In Bhagavad-gītā (2.62) it is also said, saṅgāt sañjāyate kāmaḥ. Simply by association we create artificial material necessities. Dhyāyato viṣayān puṁsaḥ saṅgas teṣūpajāyate. When we forget our real constitutional position and wish to enjoy the material resources, our material desires manifest, and we associate with varieties of material enjoyment. As soon as the concoctions of material enjoyment are there, because of our association we create a sort of lust or eagerness to enjoy them, and when that false enjoyment does not actually make us happy, we create another illusion, known as anger, and by the manifestation of anger, the illusion becomes stronger. When we are illusioned in this way, forgetfulness of our relationship with Kṛṣṇa follows, and by thus losing Kṛṣṇa consciousness, our real intelligence is defeated. In this way we become entangled in this material world. In Bhagavad-gītā (2.63) it is said: krodhād bhavati sammohaḥ sammohāt smṛti-vibhramaḥ smṛti-bhraṁśād buddhi-nāśo buddhi-nāśāt praṇaśyati By material association we lose our spiritual consciousness; consequently there is the question of the auspicious and inauspicious. But those who are ātmārāma, or self-realized, have transcended such questions. The ātmārāmas, or self-realized persons, gradually making further progress in spiritual bliss, come to the platform of association with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the perfection of life. In the beginning, the Kumāras were self-realized impersonalists, but gradually they became attracted to the personal pastimes of the Supreme Lord. The conclusion is that for those who are always engaged in the devotional service of the Personality of Godhead, the duality of the auspicious and inauspicious does not arise. Pṛthu Mahārāja is therefore asking about auspiciousness not for the sake of the Kumāras but for his own sake. |
MaE}aeYa ovac Pa*QaaeSTaTSaU¢-Maak-<YaR Saar& Sauïu iMaTa& MaDau ) SMaYaMaaNa wv Pa[qTYaa ku-Maar" Pa[TYauvac h )) 17 )) maitreya uvāca pṛthos tat sūktam ākarṇya sāraṁ suṣṭhu mitaṁ madhu smayamāna iva prītyā kumāraḥ pratyuvāca ha SYNONYMS maitreyaḥ uvāca—the great sage Maitreya continued to speak; pṛthoḥ—of King Pṛthu; tat—that; sūktam—Vedic conclusion; ākarṇya—hearing; sāram—very substantial; suṣṭhu—appropriate; mitam—minimized; madhu—sweet to hear; smayamānaḥ—smiling; iva—like; prītyā—out of great satisfaction; kumāraḥ—celibate; pratyuvāca—replied; ha—thus. TRANSLATION The great sage Maitreya continued: Thus Sanat-kumāra, the best of the celibates, after hearing the speech of Pṛthu Mahārāja, which was meaningful, appropriate, full of precise words and very sweet to hear, smiled with full satisfaction and began to speak as follows. PURPORT Pṛthu Mahārāja’s talks before the Kumāras were very laudable because of so many qualifications. A speech should be composed of selected words, very sweet to hear and appropriate to the situation. Such speech is called meaningful. All these good qualifications are present in Pṛthu Mahārāja’s speech because he is a perfect devotee. It is said, yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ: “For one who has unflinching devotional faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead and is engaged in His service, all good qualities become manifest in his person.” (Bhāg. 5.18.12) Thus the Kumāras were very much pleased, and Sanat-kumāra began to speak as follows. |
TEXT 20 ASTYaev raJaNa( >avTaae MaDauiÜz" PaadarivNdSYa Gau<aaNauvadNae ) riTaduRraPaa ivDauNaaeiTa NaEiïk-I k-aMa& k-zaYa& Mal/MaNTaraTMaNa" )) 20 )) asty eva rājan bhavato madhudviṣaḥ pādāravindasya guṇānuvādane ratir durāpā vidhunoti naiṣṭhikī kāmaṁ kaṣāyaṁ malam antar-ātmanaḥ SYNONYMS asti—there is; eva—certainly; rājan—O King; bhavataḥ—your; madhu-dviṣaḥ—of the Lord; pāda-aravindasya—of the lotus feet; guṇa-anuvādane—in glorifying; ratiḥ—attachment; durāpā—very difficult; vidhunoti—washes; naiṣṭhikī—unflinching; kāmam—lusty; kaṣāyam—the embellishment of lusty desire; malam—dirty; antaḥ-ātmanaḥ—from the core of the heart. TRANSLATION Sanat-kumāra continued: My dear King, you already have an inclination to glorify the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such attachment is very difficult to achieve, but when one has attained such unflinching faith in the Lord, it automatically cleanses lusty desires from the core of the heart. PURPORT satāṁ prasaṅgān mama vīrya-saṁvido bhavanti hṛt-karṇa-rasāyanāḥ kathāḥ taj-joṣaṇād āśv apavarga-vartmani śraddhā ratir bhaktir anukramiṣyati (Bhāg. 3.25.25) By association with devotees, dirty things within the heart of a materialistic man are gradually washed away by the grace of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As silver becomes shiny by being polished, the heart of a materialistic person is cleansed of lusty desires by the good association of devotees. Actually the living being has no connection with this material enjoyment nor with lusty desires. He is simply imagining or dreaming while asleep. But by the association of pure devotees, he is awakened, and immediately the spirit soul is situated in his own glory by understanding his constitutional position as the eternal servant of the Lord. Pṛthu Mahārāja was already a self-realized soul; therefore he had a natural inclination to glorify the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the Kumāras assured him that there was no chance of his falling victim to the illusory energy of the Supreme Lord. In other words, the process of hearing and chanting about the glories of the Lord is the only means to clarify the heart of material contamination. By the process of karma, jñāna and yoga, no one will succeed in driving away contamination from the heart, but once a person takes to the shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord by devotional service, automatically all dirty things in the heart are removed without difficulty. |
XaañeiZvYaaNaev SauiNaiêTaae Na*<aa& +aeMaSYa SaD]YaiGvMa*Xaezu heTau" ) ASa(r) AaTMaVYaiTair¢- AaTMaiNa d*!a riTab]Røi<a iNaGauR<ae c Yaa )) 21 )) śāstreṣv iyān eva suniścito nṛṇāṁ kṣemasya sadhryag-vimṛśeṣu hetuḥ asaṅga ātma-vyatirikta ātmani dṛḍhā ratir brahmaṇi nirguṇe ca yā SYNONYMS śāstreṣu—in the scriptures; iyān eva—this is only; su-niścitaḥ—positively concluded; nṛṇām—of human society; kṣemasya—of the ultimate welfare; sadhryak—perfectly; vimṛśeṣu—by full consideration; hetuḥ—cause; asaṅgaḥ—detachment; ātma-vyatirikte—the bodily concept of life; ātmani—unto the Supreme Soul; dṛḍhā—strong; ratiḥ—attachment; brahmaṇi—transcendence; nirguṇe—in the Supreme, who is beyond the material modes; ca—and; yā—which. TRANSLATION It has been conclusively decided in the scriptures, after due consideration, that the ultimate goal for the welfare of human society is detachment from the bodily concept of life and increased and steadfast attachment for the Supreme Lord, who is transcendental, beyond the modes of material nature. PURPORT Everyone in human society is engaged for the ultimate benefit of life, but persons who are in the bodily conception cannot achieve the ultimate goal, nor can they understand what it is. The ultimate goal of life is described in Bhagavad-gītā (2.59). paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate. When one finds out the supreme goal of life, he naturally becomes detached from the bodily concept. Here in this verse the indication is that one has to steadfastly increase attachment for the Transcendence (brahmaṇi). As confirmed in the Vedānta-sūtra (1.1.1), athāto brahma jijñāsā: without inquiry about the Supreme, or the Transcendence, one cannot give up attachment for this material world. By the evolutionary process in because in all those species of life, the bodily conception is very prominent. Athāto brahma jijñāsā means that in order to get out of the bodily conception, one has to increase attachment to or inquiry about Brahman. Then he can be situated in the transcendental devotional service—śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ [SB 7.5.23]. To increase attachment for Brahman means to engage in devotional service. Those who are attached to the impersonal form of Brahman cannot remain attached for very long. Impersonalists, after rejecting this world as mithyā, or false (jagan mithyā), come down again to this jagan mithyā, although they take sannyāsa to increase their attachment for Brahman. Similarly, many yogīs who are attached to the localized aspect of Brahman as Paramātmā—great sages like Viśvāmitra—also fall down as victims of women. Therefore increased attachment for the Supreme Personality of Godhead is advised in all śāstras. That is the only way of detachment from material existence and is explained in Bhagavad-gītā (2.59) as paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate. One can cease material activities when he actually has the taste for devotional service. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu also recommended love of Godhead as the ultimate goal of life (premā pum-artho mahān). Without increasing love of Godhead, one cannot achieve the perfectional stage of the transcendental position. |
TEXT 22 Saa é[ÖYaa >aGavÖMaRcYaRYaa iJajaSaYaaDYaaiTMak-YaaeGaiNaïYaa ) YaaeGaeìraePaaSaNaYaa c iNaTYa& Pau<Yaé[v"k-QaYaa Pau<YaYaa c )) 22 )) sā śraddhayā bhagavad-dharma-caryayā jijñāsayādhyātmika-yoga-niṣṭhayā yogeśvaropāsanayā ca nityaṁ puṇya-śravaḥ-kathayā puṇyayā ca SYNONYMS sā—that devotional service; śraddhayā—with faith and conviction; bhagavat-dharma—devotional service; caryayā—by discussion; jijñāsayā—by inquiry; adhyātmika—spiritual; yoga-niṣṭhayā—by conviction in spiritual understanding; yoga-īśvara—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; upāsanayā—by worship of Him; ca—and; nityam—regularly; puṇya-śravaḥ—by hearing which; kathayā—by discussion; puṇyayā—by pious; ca—also. TRANSLATION Attachment for the Supreme can be increased by practicing devotional service, inquiring about the Supreme Personality of Godhead, applying bhakti-yoga in life, worshiping the Yogeśvara, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and by hearing and chanting about the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. These actions are pious in themselves. PURPORT The word yogeśvara is applicable to both the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, and His devotees also. In Bhagavad-gītā this word occurs in two places. In the Eighteenth Chapter (18.78), Kṛṣṇa is described as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, who is the master of all mystic power (yatra yogeśvaraḥ kṛṣṇaḥ). Yogeśvara is also described at the end of the Sixth Chapter (6.47): sa me yuktatamo mataḥ. This yuktatama indicates the topmost of all yogīs—the devotees, who can also be called yogeśvara. In this verse, yogeśvara-upāsanā means to render service to a pure devotee. Thus Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says, chāḍiyā vaiṣṇava-sevā nistāra pāyeche kebā: without serving a pure devotee, one cannot advance in spiritual life. Prahlāda Mahārāja also has said: naiṣāṁ matis tāvad urukramāṅghriṁ spṛśaty anarthāpagamo yad-arthaḥ mahīyasāṁ pāda-rajo-’bhiṣekaṁ niṣkiñcanānāṁ na vṛṇīta yāvat (Bhāg. 7.5.32) One should take shelter of a pure devotee, who has nothing to do with this material world but is simply engaged in devotional service. By serving him only, one can transcend the qualitative material condition. In this verse it is recommended (yogeśvara-upāsanayā) that one serve the lotus feet of the topmost yogī, or the devotee. To serve the topmost devotee means to hear from him about the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. To hear the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead from the mouth of a pure devotee is to acquire a pious life. In Bhagavad-gītā (7.28) it is also said that without being pious one cannot engage in devotional service. yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā bhajanti māṁ dṛḍha-vratāḥ To become fixed in devotional service one has to become completely cleansed from the contamination of the material modes of nature. For work in devotional service the first item is ādau gurv-āśrayam: one should accept a bona fide spiritual master, and from the bona fide spiritual master inquire about one’s transcendental occupational duties (sad-dharma-pṛcchā) and follow in the footsteps of great saintly persons, devotees (sādhu-mārga-anugamanam). These are the instructions given in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu by Rūpa Gosvāmī. The conclusion is that to increase attachment for the Supreme Personality of Godhead one has to accept a bona fide spiritual master and learn from him the methods of devotional service and hear from him about the transcendental message and glorification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this way one has to increase his conviction about devotional service. Then it will be very easy to increase attachment for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. |
AQaeRiNd]YaaraMaSaGaaeïyTa*Z<aYaa TaTSaMMaTaaNaaMaPairGa]he<a c ) iviv¢-åCYaa PairTaaez AaTMaiNa ivNaa hreGauR<aPaqYaUzPaaNaaTa( )) 23 )) arthendriyārāma-sagoṣṭhy-atṛṣṇayā tat-sammatānām aparigraheṇa ca vivikta-rucyā paritoṣa ātmani vinā harer guṇa-pīyūṣa-pānāt SYNONYMS artha—riches; indriya—senses; ārāma—gratification; sa-goṣṭhī—with their companion; atṛṣṇayā—by reluctance; tat—that; sammatānām—since approved by them; aparigraheṇa—by nonacceptance; ca—also; vivikta-rucyā—disgusted taste; paritoṣe—happiness; ātmani—self; vinā—without; hareḥ—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; guṇa—qualities; pīyūṣa—nectar; pānāt—drinking. TRANSLATION One has to make progress in spiritual life by not associating with persons who are simply interested in sense gratification and making money. Not only such persons, but one who associates with such persons should be avoided. One should mold his life in such a way that he cannot live in peace without drinking the nectar of the glorification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari. One can be thus elevated by being disgusted with the taste for sense enjoyment. PURPORT In the material world everyone is interested in money and sense gratification. The only objective is to earn as much money as possible and utilize it for satisfaction of the senses. Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī thus described the activities of the materialistic persons: nidrayā hriyate naktaṁ vyavāyena ca vā vayaḥ divā cārthehayā rājan kuṭumba-bharaṇena vā (Bhāg. 2.1.3) This is a typical example of materialistic persons. At night they waste their time by sleeping more than six hours or by wasting time in sex indulgence. This is their occupation at night, and in the morning they go to their office or business place just to earn money. As soon as there is some money, they become busy in purchasing things for their children and others. Such persons are never interested in understanding the values of life—what is God, what is the individual soul, what is its relationship with God, etc. Things are degraded to such an extent that those who are supposed to be religious are also at the present moment interested only in sense gratification. The number of materialistic persons in this age of Kali has increased more than in any other age; therefore persons who are interested in going back home, back to Godhead, should not only engage in the service of realized souls but should give up the company of materialistic persons, whose only aim is to earn money and employ it in sense gratification. They should also not accept the objectives of materialistic persons, namely money and sense gratification. Therefore it is stated: bhaktiḥ pareśānubhavo viraktir anyatra ca (Bhāg. 11.2.42). To advance in devotional service one should be uninterested in the materialistic way of life. That which is the subject matter of satisfaction for the devotees is of no interest to the nondevotees. Simple negation, or giving up the company of materialistic persons, will not do. We must have engagements. Sometimes it is found that a person interested in spiritual advancement gives up the company of material society and goes to a secluded place as recommended for the yogīs especially, but that will also not help a person in spiritual advancement, for in many instances such yogīs also fall down. As far as jñānīs are concerned, generally they fall down without taking shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord. The impersonalists or the voidists can simply avoid the positive material association; they cannot remain fixed in transcendence without being engaged in devotional service. The beginning of devotional service is to hear about the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is recommended in this verse: vinā harer guṇa-pīyūṣa-pānāt. One must drink the nectar of the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and this means that one must be always engaged in hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord. It is the prime method for advancing in spiritual life. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu also recommends this in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta. If one wants to make advancement in spiritual life, by great fortune he may meet a bona fide spiritual master and from him learn about Kṛṣṇa. By serving both the spiritual master and Kṛṣṇa he gets the seed of devotional service (bhakti-latā-bīja), and if he sows the seed within his heart and waters it by hearing and chanting, it grows into a luxuriant bhakti-latā, or bhakti creeper. The creeper is so strong that it penetrates the covering of the universe and reaches the spiritual world and continues to grow on and on until it reaches and takes shelter of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, just as an ordinary creeper also grows on and on until it takes a solid shelter on a roof; then it very steadily grows and produces the required fruit. The real cause of the growing of such fruit, which is here called the nectar of hearing the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is to water the creeper of devotional service by hearing and chanting. The purport is that one cannot live outside the society of devotees; one must live in the association of devotees, where there is constant chanting and hearing of the glories of the Lord. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is started for this purpose, so that hundreds of ISKCON centers may give people a chance to hear and chant, to accept the spiritual master and to disassociate themselves from persons who are materially interested, for in this way one can make solid advancement in going back home, back to Godhead. |
Aih&SaYaa PaarMah&SYacYaRYaa SMa*TYaa Mauku-NdacirTaaGY]aSaqDauNaa ) YaMaErk-aMaEiNaRYaMaEêaPYaiNaNdYaa iNarqhYaa ÜNÜiTaiTa+aYaa c )) 24 )) ahiṁsayā pāramahaṁsya-caryayā smṛtyā mukundācaritāgrya-sīdhunā yamair akāmair niyamaiś cāpy anindayā nirīhayā dvandva-titikṣayā ca SYNONYMS ahiṁsayā—by nonviolence; pāramahaṁsya-caryayā—by following in the footsteps of great ācāryas; smṛtyā—by remembering; mukunda—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; ācarita-agrya—simply preaching His activities; sīdhunā—by the nectar; yamaiḥ—by following regulative principles; akāmaiḥ—without material desires; niyamaiḥ—by strictly following the rules and regulations; ca—also; api—certainly; anindayā—without blaspheming; nirīhayā—living simply, plain living; dvandva—duality; titikṣayā—by tolerance; ca—and. TRANSLATION A candidate for spiritual advancement must be nonviolent, must follow in the footsteps of great ācāryas, must always remember the nectar of the pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, must follow the regulative principles without material desire and, while following the regulative principles, should not blaspheme others. A devotee should lead a very simple life and not be disturbed by the duality of opposing elements. He should learn to tolerate them. PURPORT The devotees are actually saintly persons, or sādhus. The first qualification of a sādhu, or devotee, is ahiṁsā, or nonviolence. Persons interested in the path of devotional service, or in going back home, back to Godhead, must first practice ahiṁsā, or nonviolence. A sādhu is described as titikṣavaḥ kāruṇikāḥ (Bhāg. 3.25.21). A devotee should be tolerant and should be very much compassionate toward others. For example, if he suffers personal injury, he should tolerate it, but if someone else suffers injury, the devotee need not tolerate it. The whole world is full of violence, and a devotee’s first business is to stop this violence, including the unnecessary slaughter of animals. A devotee is the friend not only of human society but of all living entities, for he sees all living entities as sons of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He does not claim himself to be the only son of God and allow all others to be killed, thinking that they have no soul. This kind of philosophy is never advocated by a pure devotee of the Lord. Suhṛdaḥ sarva-dehinām: a true devotee is the friend of all living entities. Kṛṣṇa claims in Bhagavad-gītā to be the father of all species of living entities; consequently the devotee of Kṛṣṇa is always a friend of all. This is called ahiṁsā. Such nonviolence can be practiced only when we follow in the footsteps of great ācāryas. Therefore, according to our Vaiṣṇava philosophy, we have to follow the great ācāryas of the four sampradāyas, or disciplic successions. Trying to advance in spiritual life outside the disciplic succession is simply ludicrous. It is said, therefore, ācāryavān puruṣo veda: one who follows the disciplic succession of ācāryas knows things as they are (Chāndogya Upaniṣad 6.14.2). Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet: [MU tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet samit-pāṇiḥ śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham “To understand these things properly, one must humbly approach, with firewood in hand, a spiritual master who is learned in the Vedas and firmly devoted to the Absolute Truth.” [Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.2.12] It is also stated in this verse that one can advance by controlling the senses (yamaiḥ). By controlling the senses, one can become a svāmī or gosvāmī. One who is therefore enjoying this supertitle, svāmī or gosvāmī, must be very strict in controlling his senses. Indeed, he must be master of his senses. This is possible when one does not desire any material sense gratification. If, by chance, the senses want to work independently, he must control them. If we simply practice avoiding material sense gratification, controlling the senses is automatically achieved. Another important point mentioned in this connection is anindayā—we should not criticize others’ methods of religion. There are different types of religious systems operating under different qualities of material nature. Those operating in the modes of ignorance and passion cannot be as perfect as that system in the mode of goodness. In Bhagavad-gītā everything has been divided into three qualitative divisions; therefore religious systems are similarly categorized. When people are mostly under the modes of passion and ignorance, their system of religion will be of the same quality. A devotee, instead of criticizing such systems, will encourage the followers to stick to their principles so that gradually they can come to the platform of religion in goodness. Simply by criticizing them, a devotee’s mind will be agitated. Thus a devotee should tolerate and learn to stop agitation. Another feature of the devotee is nirīhayā, simple living. Nirīhā means “gentle,” “meek” or “simple.” A devotee should not live very gorgeously and imitate a materialistic person. Plain living and high thinking are recommended for a devotee. He should accept only so much as he needs to keep the material body fit for the execution of devotional service. He should not eat or sleep more than is required. Simply eating for living, and not living for eating, and sleeping only six to seven hours a day are principles to be followed by devotees. As long as the body is there it is subjected to the influence of climatic changes, disease and natural disturbances, the threefold miseries of material existence. We cannot avoid them. Sometimes we receive letters from neophyte devotees questioning why they have fallen sick, although pursuing Kṛṣṇa consciousness. They should learn from this verse that they have to become tolerant (dvandva-titikṣayā). This is the world of duality. One should not think that because he has fallen sick he has fallen from Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Kṛṣṇa consciousness can continue without impediment from any material opposition. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa therefore advises in Bhagavad-gītā (2.14), tāṁs titikṣasva bhārata: “My dear Arjuna, please try to tolerate all these disturbances. Be fixed in your Kṛṣṇa conscious activities.” |
hreMauRhuSTaTPark-<aRPaUr‚- Gau<aai>aDaaNaeNa ivJa*M>aMaa<aYaa ) >a¢-ya ùSa(r)" SadSaTYaNaaTMaiNa SYaaiàGauR<ae b]øi<a caÅSaa riTa" )) 25 )) harer muhus tatpara-karṇa-pūra- guṇābhidhānena vijṛmbhamāṇayā bhaktyā hy asaṅgaḥ sad-asaty anātmani syān nirguṇe brahmaṇi cāñjasā ratiḥ SYNONYMS hareḥ—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; muhuḥ—constantly; tat-para—in relation with the Supreme Personality of Godhead; karṇa-pūra—decoration of the ear; guṇa-abhidhānena—discussing transcendental qualities; vijṛmbhamāṇayā—by increasing Kṛṣṇa consciousness; bhaktyā—by devotion; hi—certainly; asaṅgaḥ—uncontaminated; sat-asati—the material world; anātmani—opposed to spiritual understanding; syāt—should be; nirguṇe—in transcendence; brahmaṇi—in the Supreme Lord; ca—and; añjasā—easily; ratiḥ—attraction. TRANSLATION The devotee should gradually increase the culture of devotional service by constant hearing of the transcendental qualities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. These pastimes are like ornamental decorations on the ears of devotees. By rendering devotional service and transcending the material qualities, one can easily be fixed in transcendence in the Supreme Personality of Godhead. PURPORT This verse is especially mentioned to substantiate the devotional process of hearing the subject matter. A devotee does not like to hear anything other than subjects dealing with spiritual activities, or the pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. We can increase our propensity for devotional service by hearing Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from realized souls. The more we hear from realized souls, the more we make advancement in our devotional life. The more we advance in devotional life, the more we become detached from the material world. The more we become detached from the material world, as advised by Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the more we increase in attachment for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, a devotee who actually wants to make progress in devotional service and go back home, back to Godhead, must lose interest in sense enjoyment and associating with persons who are after money and sense gratification. This is the advice of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu: niṣkiñcanasya bhagavad-bhajanonmukhasya pāraṁ paraṁ jigamiṣor bhava-sāgarasya sandarśanaṁ viṣayiṇām atha yoṣitāṁ ca hā hanta hanta viṣa-bhakṣaṇato ’py asādhu (Cc. Madhya 11.8) The word brahmaṇi used in this verse is commented upon by the impersonalists or professional reciters of Bhāgavatam, who are mainly advocates of the caste system by demoniac birthright. They say that brahmaṇi means the impersonal Brahman. But they cannot conclude this with reference to the context of the words bhaktyā and guṇābhidhānena. According to the impersonalists, there are no transcendental qualities in the impersonal Brahman; therefore we should understand that brahmaṇi means “in the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as admitted by Arjuna in Bhagavad-gītā; therefore wherever the word brahma is used, it must refer to Kṛṣṇa, not to the impersonal Brahman effulgence. Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate (Bhāg. 1.2.11). Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān can all be taken in total as Brahman, but when there is reference to the word bhakti or remembrance of the transcendental qualities, this indicates the Supreme Personality of Godhead, not the impersonal Brahman. |
TEXT 26 Yada riTab]Røi<a NaEiïk-I PauMaa‚ ) NaacaYaRvaNa( jaNaivraGar&hSaa ) dhTYavqYa| ôdYa& Jaqvk-aeXa& ) PaÄaTMak&- YaaeiNaiMavaeiTQaTaae_iGan" )) 26 )) yadā ratir brahmaṇi naiṣṭhikī pumān ācāryavān jñāna-virāga-raṁhasā dahaty avīryaṁ hṛdayaṁ jīva-kośaṁ pañcātmakaṁ yonim ivotthito ’gniḥ SYNONYMS yadā—when; ratiḥ—attachment; brahmaṇi—in the Supreme Personality of Godhead; naiṣṭhikī—fixed; pumān—the person; ācāryavān—completely surrendered to the spiritual master; jñāna—knowledge; virāga—detachment; raṁhasā—by the force of; dahati—burns; avīryam—impotent; hṛdayam—within the heart; jīva-kośam—the covering of the spirit soul; pañca-ātmakam—five elements; yonim—source of birth; iva—like; utthitaḥ—emanating; agniḥ—fire. TRANSLATION Upon becoming fixed in his attachment to the Supreme Personality of Godhead by the grace of the spiritual master and by awakening knowledge and detachment, the living entity, situated within the heart of the body and covered by the five elements, burns up his material surroundings exactly as fire, arising from wood, burns the wood itself. PURPORT It is said that both the jīvātmā, the individual soul, and the Paramātmā live together within the heart. In the Vedic version it is stated, hṛdi hy ayam ātmā: the soul and Supersoul both live within the heart. The individual soul is liberated when it comes out of the material heart or cleanses the heart to make it spiritualized. The example given here is very appropriate: yonim ivotthito’gniḥ. Agni, or fire, comes out of wood, and by it the wood is completely destroyed. Similarly, when a living entity increases his attachment for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is to be considered like fire. A blazing fire is visible by its exhibition of heat and light; similarly, when the living entity within the heart becomes enlightened with full spiritual knowledge and detached from the material world, he burns up his material covering of the five elements—earth, water, fire, air and sky—and becomes free from the five kinds of material attachments, namely ignorance, false egoism, attachment to the material world, envy and absorption in material consciousness. Therefore pañcātmakam, as mentioned in this verse, refers to either the five elements or the five coverings of material contamination. When these are all burned into ashes by the blazing fire of knowledge and detachment, one is fixed firmly in the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Unless one takes shelter of a bona fide spiritual master and advances one’s attraction for Kṛṣṇa by the spiritual master’s instructions, the five coverings of the living entity cannot be uncovered from the material heart. The living entity is centered within the heart, and to take him away from the heart is to liberate him. This is the process. One must take shelter of a bona fide spiritual master and by his instruction increase one’s knowledge in devotional service, become detached from the material world and thus become liberated. An advanced devotee, therefore, does not live within the material body but within his spiritual body, just as a dry coconut lives detached from the coconut husk, even though within the husk. The pure devotee’s body is therefore called cin-maya-śarīra (“spiritualized body”). In other words, a devotee’s body is not connected with material activities, and as such, a devotee is always liberated (brahma-bhūyāya kalpate), as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (14.26). Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī also confirms this: īhā yasya harer dāsye karmaṇā manasā girā nikhilāsv apy avasthāsu jīvan-muktaḥ sa ucyate “Whatever his condition may be, one who is engaged fully with his body, mind and speech in the service of the Lord is liberated, even within this body.” |
TEXT 27 dGDaaXaYaae Mau¢-SaMaSTaTad(Gau<aae NaEvaTMaNaae bihrNTaivRcíe ) ParaTMaNaaeYaRÜyvDaaNa& PaurSTaaTa( SvPane YaQaa PauåzSTaiÜNaaXae )) 27 )) dagdhāśayo mukta-samasta-tad-guṇo naivātmano bahir antar vicaṣṭe parātmanor yad-vyavadhānaṁ purastāt svapne yathā puruṣas tad-vināśe SYNONYMS dagdha-āśayaḥ—all material desires being burned; mukta—liberated; samasta—all; tat-guṇaḥ—qualities in connection with matter; na—not; eva—certainly; ātmanaḥ—the soul or the Supersoul; bahiḥ—external; antaḥ—internal; vicaṣṭe—acting; para-ātmanoḥ—of the Supersoul; yat—that; vyavadhānam—difference; purastāt—as it was in the beginning; svapne—in dream; yathā—as; puruṣaḥ—a person; tat—that; vināśe—being finished. TRANSLATION When a person becomes devoid of all material desires and liberated from all material qualities, he transcends distinctions between actions executed externally and internally. At that time the difference between the soul and the Supersoul, which was existing before self-realization, is annihilated. When a dream is over, there is no longer a distinction between the dream and the dreamer. PURPORT As described by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī (anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam [Madhya 19.167]), one must be devoid of all material desires. When a person becomes devoid of all material desires, there is no longer need for speculative knowledge or fruitive activities. In that condition it is to be understood that one is free from the material body. The example is already given above—a coconut which is dry is loosened from its outward husk. This is the stage of liberation. As said in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.10.6), mukti (liberation) means svarūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ—being situated in one’s own constitutional position. All material desires are present as long as one is in the bodily concept of life, but when one realizes that he is an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, his desires are no longer material. A devotee acts in this consciousness. In other words, when material desires in connection with the body are finished, one is actually liberated. When one is liberated from the material qualities, he does not do anything for his personal sense gratification. At that time all activities performed by him are absolute. In the conditioned state there are two kinds of activities. One acts on behalf of the body, and at the same time he acts to become liberated. The devotee, when he is completely free from all material desires or all material qualities, transcends the duality of action for the body and soul. Then the bodily concept of life is completely over. Therefore Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī says: īhā yasya harer dāsye karmaṇā manasā girā nikhilāsv apy avasthāsu jīvan-muktaḥ sa ucyate When one is completely fixed in the service of the Lord, he is a liberated person in any condition of life. He is called jīvan-muktaḥ, liberated even within this body. In such a liberated condition, there is no distinction between actions for sense gratification and actions for liberation. When one is liberated from the desires of sense gratification, he has no longer to suffer the reactions of lamentation or illusion. Activities performed by the karmīs and jñānīs are subject to lamentation and illusion, but a self-realized liberated person acting only for the Supreme Personality of Godhead experiences none. This is the stage of oneness, or merging into the existence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This means that the individual soul, while keeping his individuality, no longer has separate interests. He is fully in the service of the Lord, and he has nothing to do for his personal sense gratification; therefore he sees only the Supreme Personality of Godhead and not himself. His personal interest completely perishes. When a person comes out of a dream, the dream vanishes. While dreaming a person may consider himself a king and see the royal paraphernalia, his soldiers, etc., but when the dream is over, he does not see anything beyond himself. Similarly, a liberated person understands that he is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord acting in accordance with the desire of the Supreme Lord, and as such there is no distinction between himself and the Supreme Lord, although both of them retain their individuality. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām. This is the perfect conception of oneness in relation to the Supersoul and the soul. |
AaTMaaNaiMaiNd]YaaQa| c Par& Yadu>aYaaeriPa ) SaTYaaXaYa oPaaDaaE vE PauMaaNa( PaXYaiTa NaaNYada )) 28 )) ātmānam indriyārthaṁ ca paraṁ yad ubhayor api saty āśaya upādhau vai pumān paśyati nānyadā SYNONYMS ātmānam—the soul; indriya-artham—for sense gratification; ca—and; param—transcendental; yat—that; ubhayoḥ—both; api—certainly; sati—being situated; āśaye—material desires; upādhau—designation; vai—certainly; pumān—the person; paśyati—sees; na anyadā—not otherwise. TRANSLATION When the soul exists for sense gratification, he creates different desires, and for that reason he becomes subjected to designations. But when one is in the transcendental position, he is no longer interested in anything except fulfilling the desires of the Lord. PURPORT Being covered by material desires, a spirit soul is also considered to be covered by designations belonging to a particular type of body. Thus he considers himself an animal, man, demigod, bird, beast, etc. In so many ways he is influenced by false identification caused by false egotism, and being covered by illusory material desires, he distinguishes between matter and spirit. When one is devoid of such distinctions, there is no longer a difference between matter and spirit. At that time, the spirit is the only predominating factor. As long as one is covered by material desires, he thinks himself the master or the enjoyer. Thus he acts for sense gratification and becomes subjected to material pangs, happiness and distress. But when one is freed from such a concept of life, he is no longer subjected to designations, and he envisions everything as spiritual in connection with the Supreme Lord. This is explained by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī in his Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.255): anāsaktasya viṣayān yathārham upayuñjataḥ nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe yuktaṁ vairāgyam ucyate The liberated person has no attachment for anything material or for sense gratification. He understands that everything is connected with the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that everything should be engaged in the service of the Lord. Therefore he does not give up anything. There is no question of renouncing anything because the paramahaṁsa knows how to engage everything in the service of the Lord. Originally everything is spiritual; nothing is material. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 8.274) also it is explained that a mahā-bhāgavata, a highly advanced devotee, has no material vision: sthāvara-jaṅgama dekhe, nā dekhe tāra mūrti sarvatra haya nija iṣṭa-deva-sphūrti Although he sees trees, mountains, and other living entities moving here and there, he sees all as the creation of the Supreme Lord and, with reference to the context, sees only the creator and not the created. In other words, he no longer distinguishes between the created and the creator. He sees only the Supreme Personality of Godhead in everything. He sees Kṛṣṇa in everything and everything in Kṛṣṇa. This is oneness. |
TEXT 29 iNaiMatae SaiTa SavR}a Jal/adaviPa PaUåz" ) AaTMaNaê ParSYaaiPa i>ada& PaXYaiTa NaaNYada )) 29 )) nimitte sati sarvatra jalādāv api pūruṣaḥ ātmanaś ca parasyāpi bhidāṁ paśyati nānyadā SYNONYMS nimitte—on account of causes; sati—being; sarvatra—everywhere; jala-ādau api—water and other reflecting media; pūruṣaḥ—the person; ātmanaḥ—oneself; ca—and; parasya api—another’s self; bhidām—differentiation; paśyati—sees; na anyadā—there is no other reason. TRANSLATION Only because of different causes does a person see a difference between himself and others, just as one sees the reflection of a body appearing differently manifested on water, on oil or in a mirror. PURPORT The spirit soul is one, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is manifested in svāṁśa and vibhinna-ṁśa expansions. The jīvas are vibhinnāṁśa expansions. The different incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are svāṁśa expansions. Thus there are different potencies of the Supreme Lord, and there are different expansions of the different potencies. In this way, for different reasons there are different expansions of the same one principle, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This understanding is real knowledge, but when the living entity is covered by the upādhi, or designated body, he sees differences, exactly as one sees differences in reflections of oneself on water, on oil or in a mirror. When something is reflected on the water, it appears to be moving. When it is reflected on ice, it appears fixed. When it is reflected on oil, it appears hazy. The subject is one, but under different conditions it appears differently. When the qualifying factor is taken away, the whole appears to be one. In other words, when one comes to the paramahaṁsa or perfectional stage of life by practicing bhakti-yoga, he sees only Kṛṣṇa everywhere. For him there is no other objective. In conclusion, due to different causes, the living entity is visible in different forms as an animal, human being, demigod, tree, etc. Actually every living entity is the marginal potency of the Supreme Lord. In Bhagavad-gītā (5.18), therefore, it is explained that one who actually sees the spirit soul does not distinguish between a learned brāhmaṇa and a dog, an elephant or a cow. paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ. One who is actually learned sees only the living entity, not the outward covering. Differentiation is therefore the result of different karma, or fruitive activities, and when we stop fruitive activities, turning them into acts of devotion, we can understand that we are not different from anyone else, regardless of the form. This is only possible in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In this movement there are many different races of men from all parts of the world participating, but because they think of themselves as servants of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they do not differentiate between black and white, yellow and red. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is therefore the only means to make the living entities free of all designations. |
Ta}aaiPa Maae+a WvaQaR AaTYaiNTak-TaYaeZYaTae ) }aEvGYaaeR_QaaeR YaTaae iNaTYa& k*-TaaNTa>aYaSa&YauTa" )) 35 )) tatrāpi mokṣa evārtha ātyantikatayeṣyate traivargyo ’rtho yato nityaṁ kṛtānta-bhaya-saṁyutaḥ SYNONYMS tatra—there; api—also; mokṣaḥ—liberation; eva—certainly; arthe—for the matter of; ātyantikatayā—most important; iṣyate—taken in that way; trai-vargyaḥ—the three others, namely religion, economic development and sense gratification; arthaḥ—interest; yataḥ—wherefrom; nityam—regularly; kṛta-anta—death; bhaya—fear; saṁyutaḥ—attached. TRANSLATION Out of the four principles—namely religion, economic development, sense gratification and liberation—liberation has to be taken very seriously. The other three are subject to destruction by the stringent law of nature—death. PURPORT Mokṣa, or liberation, has to be taken very seriously, even at the sacrifice of the other three items. As advised by Sūta Gosvāmī in the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, religious principles are not based on success in economic development. Because we are very attached to sense gratification, we go to God, to the temple or churches, for some economic reasons. Then again, economic development does not mean sense gratification. Everything should be adjusted in such a way that we attain liberation. Therefore in this verse, liberation, mokṣa, is stressed. The other three items are material and therefore subject to destruction. Even if somehow we accumulate a great bank balance in this life and possess many material things, everything will be finished with death. In Bhagavad-gītā it is said that death is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who ultimately takes away everything acquired by the materialistic person. Foolishly we do not care for this. Foolishly we are not afraid of death, nor do we consider that death will take away everything acquired by the process of dharma, artha and kāma. By dharma, or pious activities, we may be elevated to the heavenly planets, but this does not mean freedom from the clutches of birth, death, old age and disease. The purport is that we can sacrifice our interests in traivargya—religious principles, economic development and sense gratification—but we cannot sacrifice the cause of liberation. Regarding liberation, it is stated in Bhagavad-gītā (4.9): tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti. Liberation means that after giving up this body one does not have to accept another material body. To the impersonalists liberation means merging into the existence of impersonal Brahman. But factually this is not mokṣa because one has to again fall down into this material world from that impersonal position. One should therefore seek the shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and engage in His devotional service. That is real liberation. The conclusion is that we should not stress pious activities, economic development and sense gratification, but should concern ourselves with approaching Lord Viṣṇu in His spiritual planets, of which the topmost is Goloka Vṛndāvana, where Lord Kṛṣṇa lives. Therefore this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is the greatest gift for persons who are actually desiring liberation. |
TEXT 36 Pare_vre c Yae >aava Gau<aVYaiTak-radNau ) Na Taeza& ivÛTae +aeMaMaqXaivß&iSaTaaiXazaMa( )) 36 )) pare ’vare ca ye bhāvā guṇa-vyatikarād anu na teṣāṁ vidyate kṣemam īśa-vidhvaṁsitāśiṣām SYNONYMS pare—in the higher status of life; avare—in the lower status of life; ca—and; ye—all those; bhāvāḥ—conceptions; guṇa—material qualities; vyatikarāt—by interaction; anu—following; na—never; teṣām—of them; vidyate—exist; kṣemam—correction; īśa—the Supreme Lord; vidhvaṁsita—destroyed; āśiṣām—of the blessings. TRANSLATION We accept as blessings different states of higher life, distinguishing them from lower states of life, but we should know that such distinctions exist only in relation to the interchange of the modes of material nature. Actually these states of life have no permanent existence, for all of them will be destroyed by the supreme controller. PURPORT In our material existence we accept a higher form of life as a blessing and a lower form as a curse. This distinction of “higher” and “lower” only exists as long as the different material qualities (guṇas) interact. In other words, by our good activities we are elevated to the higher planetary systems or to a higher standard of life (good education, beautiful body, etc.). These are the results of pious activities. Similarly, by impious activities we remain illiterate, get ugly bodies, a poor standard of living, etc. But all these different states of life are under the laws of material nature through the interaction of the qualities of goodness, passion and ignorance. However, all these qualities will cease to act at the time of the dissolution of the entire cosmic manifestation. The Lord therefore says in Bhagavad-gītā (8.16): ābrahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino ’rjuna mām upetya tu kaunteya punar janma na vidyate Even though we elevate ourselves to the highest planetary system by the scientific advancement of knowledge or by the religious principles of life—great sacrifices and fruitive activities—at the time of dissolution these higher planetary systems and life on them will be destroyed. In this verse the words īśa-vidhvaṁsitāśiṣām indicate that all such blessings will be destroyed by the supreme controller. We will not be protected. Our bodies, either in this planet or in another planet, will be destroyed, and again we will have to remain for millions of years in an unconscious state within the body of Mahā-Viṣṇu. And again, when the creation is manifested, we have to take birth in different species of life and begin our activities. Therefore we should not be satisfied simply by a promotion to the higher planetary systems. We should try to get out of the material cosmic manifestation, go to the spiritual world and take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is our highest achievement. We should not be attracted by anything material, higher or lower, but should consider them all on the same level. Our real engagement should be in inquiring about the real purpose of life and rendering devotional service to the Lord. Thus we will be eternally blessed in our spiritual activities, full of knowledge and bliss. Regulated human civilization promotes dharma, artha, kāma and mokṣa. In human society there must be religion. Without religion, human society is only animal society. Economic development and sense gratification must be based on religious principles. When religion, economic development and sense gratification are adjusted, liberation from this material birth, death, old age and disease is assured. In the present age of Kali, however, there is no question of religion and liberation. People have taken interest only in economic development and sense gratification. Therefore, despite sufficient economic development all over the world, dealings in human society have become almost animalistic. When everything becomes grossly animalistic, dissolution takes place. This dissolution is to be accepted as īśa-vidhvaṁsitāśiṣām. The Lord’s so-called blessings of economic development and sense gratification will be conclusively dissolved by destruction. At the end of this Kali-yuga, the Lord will appear as the incarnation of Kalki, and His only business will be to kill all human beings on the surface of the globe. After that killing, another golden age will begin. We should therefore know that our material activities are just like childish play. Children may play on the beach, and the father will sit and watch this childish play, the construction of buildings with sand, the construction of walls and so many things, but finally the father will ask the children to come home. Then everything is destroyed. Persons who are too much addicted to the childish activities of economic development and sense gratification are sometimes especially favored by the Lord when He destroys their construction of these things. It is said by the Lord: yasyāham anugṛhṇāmi hariṣye tad-dhanaṁ śanaiḥ. The Lord told Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja that His special favor is shown to His devotee when He takes away all the devotee’s material opulences. Generally, therefore, it is experienced that Vaiṣṇavas are not very opulent in the material sense. When a Vaiṣṇava, pure devotee, tries to be materially opulent and at the same time desires to serve the Supreme Lord, his devotional service is checked. The Lord, in order to show him a special favor, destroys his so-called economic development and material opulences. Thus the devotee, being frustrated in his repeated attempts at economic development, ultimately takes solid shelter under the lotus feet of the Lord. This kind of action may also be accepted as īśa-vidhvaṁ-sitāśiṣām, whereby the Lord destroys one’s material opulences but enriches one in spiritual understanding. In the course of our preaching work, we sometimes see that materialistic persons come to us and offer their obeisances to take blessings, which means they want more and more material opulences. If such material opulences are checked, such persons are no longer interested in offering obeisances to the devotees. Such materialistic persons are always concerned about their economic development. They offer obeisances to saintly persons or the Supreme Lord and give something in charity for preaching work with a view that they will be rewarded with further economic development. However, when one is sincere in his devotional service, the Lord obliges the devotee to give up his material development and completely surrender unto Him. Because the Lord does not give blessings of material opulence to His devotee, people are afraid of worshiping Lord Viṣṇu because they see that the Vaiṣṇavas, who are worshipers of Lord Viṣṇu, are poor in superficial material opulences. Such materialistic persons, however, get immense opportunity for economic development by worshiping Lord Śiva, for Lord Śiva is the husband of the goddess Durgā, the proprietor of this universe. By the grace of Lord Śiva, a devotee gets the opportunity to be blessed by the goddess Durgā. Rāvaṇa, for example, was a great worshiper and devotee of Lord Śiva, and in return he got all the blessings of goddess Durgā, so much so that his whole kingdom was constructed of golden buildings. In Brazil, in this present age, huge quantities of gold have been found, and from historical references in the Purāṇas, we can guess safely that this was Rāvaṇa’s kingdom. This kingdom was, however, destroyed by Lord Rāmacandra. By studying such incidents, we can understand the full meaning of īśa-vidhvaṁsitāśiṣām. The Lord does not bestow material blessings upon the devotees, for they may be entrapped again in this material world by continuous birth, death, old age and disease. Due to materialistic opulences, persons like Rāvaṇa become puffed up for sense gratification. Rāvaṇa even dared kidnap Sītā, who was both the wife of Lord Rāmacandra and the goddess of fortune, thinking that he would be able to enjoy the pleasure potency of the Lord. But actually, by such action, Rāvaṇa became vidhvaṁsita, or ruined. At the present moment human civilization is too much attached to economic development and sense gratification and is therefore nearing the path of ruination. |
TEXT 37 Tatv& NareNd] JaGaTaaMaQa TaSQaUza& c deheiNd]YaaSauiDaz<aaTMai>arav*TaaNaaMa( ) Ya" +ae}aivtaPaTaYaa ôid ivìGaaiv" Pa[TYak( ck-aiSTa >aGava&STaMaveih Saae_iSMa )) 37 )) tat tvaṁ narendra jagatām atha tasthūṣāṁ ca dehendriyāsu-dhiṣaṇātmabhir āvṛtānām yaḥ kṣetravit-tapatayā hṛdi viśvag āviḥ pratyak cakāsti bhagavāṁs tam avehi so ’smi SYNONYMS tat—therefore; tvam—you; nara-indra—O best of kings; jagatām—of the moving; atha—therefore; tasthūṣām—the immovable; ca—also; deha—body; indriya—senses; asu—life air; dhiṣaṇā—by consideration; ātmabhiḥ—self-realization; āvṛtānām—those who are covered in that way; yaḥ—one who; kṣetra-vit—knower of the field; tapatayā—by controlling; hṛdi—within the heart; viśvak—everywhere; āviḥ—manifest; pratyak—in every hair follicle; cakāsti—shining; bhagavān—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; tam—unto Him; avehi—try to understand; saḥ asmi—I am that. TRANSLATION Sanat-kumāra advised the King: Therefore, my dear King Pṛthu, try to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is living within everyone’s heart along with the individual soul, in each and every body, either moving or not moving. The individual souls are fully covered by the gross material body and subtle body made of the life air and intelligence. PURPORT In this verse it is specifically advised that instead of wasting time in the human form of life endeavoring for economic development and sense gratification, one should try to cultivate spiritual values by understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is existing with the individual soul within everyone’s heart. The individual soul and the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His Paramātmā feature are both sitting within this body, which is covered by gross and subtle elements. To understand this is to attain actual spiritual culture. There are two ways of advancing in spiritual culture—by the method of the impersonalist philosophers and by devotional service. The impersonalist comes to the conclusion that he and the Supreme Spirit are one, whereas devotees, or personalists, realize the Absolute Truth by understanding that because the Absolute Truth is the supreme predominator and we living entities are predominated, our duty is to serve Him. The Vedic injunctions say, tat tvam asi, “You are the same,” and so’ham, “I am the same.” The impersonalist conception of these mantras is that the Supreme Lord, or the Absolute Truth, and the living entity are one, but from the devotee’s point of view these mantras assert that both the Supreme Lord and ourselves are of the same quality. Tat tvam asi, ayam ātmā brahma. Both the Supreme Lord and the living entity are spirit. Understanding this is self-realization. The human form of life is meant for understanding the Supreme Lord and oneself by spiritual cultivation of knowledge. One should not waste valuable life simply engaged in economic development and sense gratification. In this verse the word kṣetra-vit is also important. This word is explained in Bhagavad-gītā (13.2): idaṁ śarīraṁ kaunteya kṣetram ity abhidhīyate. This body is called kṣetra (the field of activities), and the proprietors of the body (the individual soul and the Supersoul sitting within the body) are both called kṣetra-vit. But there is a difference between the two kinds of kṣetra-vit. One kṣetra-vit, or knower of the body, namely the Paramātmā, or the Supersoul, is directing the individual soul. When we rightly take the direction of the Supersoul, our life becomes successful. He is directing from within and from without. From within He is directing as caitya-guru, or the spiritual master sitting within the heart. Indirectly He is also helping the living entity by manifesting Himself as the spiritual master outside. In both ways the Lord is giving directions to the living entity so that he may finish up his material activities and come back home, back to Godhead. The presence of the Supreme Soul and the individual soul within the body can be perceived by anyone by the fact that as long as the individual soul and the Supersoul are both living within the body, the body is always shining and fresh. But as soon as the Supersoul and the individual soul give up possession of the gross body, it immediately decomposes. One who is spiritually advanced can thus understand the real difference between a dead body and a living body. In conclusion, one should not waste his time by so-called economic development and sense gratification, but should cultivate spiritual knowledge to understand the Supersoul and the individual soul and their relationship. In this way, by advancement of knowledge, one can achieve liberation and the ultimate goal of life. It is said that if one takes to the path of liberation, even rejecting his so-called duties in the material world, he is not a loser at all. But a person who does not take to the path of liberation yet carefully executes economic development and sense gratification loses everything. Nārada’s statement before Vyāsadeva is appropriate in this connection: tyaktvā sva-dharmaṁ caraṇāmbujaṁ harer bhajann apakvo ’tha patet tato yadi yatra kva vābhadram abhūd amuṣya kiṁ ko vārtha āpto ’bhajatāṁ sva-dharmataḥ (Bhāg. 1.5.17) If a person, out of sentiment or for some other reason, takes to the shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord and in due course of time does not succeed in coming to the ultimate goal of life or falls down due to lack of experience, there is no loss. But for a person who does not take to devotional service yet executes his material duties very nicely, there is no gain. |
YaiSMaiàd& SadSadaTMaTaYaa iv>aaiTa MaaYaa ivvek-ivDauiTa óiJa vaihbuiÖ" ) Ta& iNaTYaMau¢-PairéuÖivéuÖTatv& Pa[TYaU!k-MaRk-il/l/Pa[k*-iTa& Pa[PaÛe )) 38 )) yasminn idaṁ sad-asad-ātmatayā vibhāti māyā viveka-vidhuti sraji vāhi-buddhiḥ taṁ nitya-mukta-pariśuddha-viśuddha-tattvaṁ pratyūḍha-karma-kalila-prakṛtiṁ prapadye SYNONYMS yasmin—in which; idam—this; sat-asat—the Supreme Lord and His different energies; ātmatayā—being the root of all cause and effect; vibhāti—manifests; māyā—illusion; viveka-vidhuti—liberated by deliberate consideration; sraji—on the rope; vā—or; ahi—serpent; buddhiḥ—intelligence; tam—unto Him; nitya—eternally; mukta—liberated; pariśuddha—uncontaminated; viśuddha—pure; tattvam—truth; pratyūḍha—transcendental; karma—fruitive activities; kalila—impurities; prakṛtim—situated in spiritual energy; prapadye—surrender. TRANSLATION The Supreme Personality of Godhead manifests Himself as one with the cause and effect within this body, but one who has transcended the illusory energy by deliberate consideration, which clears the misconception of a snake for a rope, can understand that the Paramātmā is eternally transcendental to the material creation and situated in pure internal energy. Thus the Lord is transcendental to all material contamination. Unto Him only must one surrender. PURPORT This verse is specifically stated to defy the Māyāvāda conclusion of oneness without differentiation between the individual soul and the Supersoul. The Māyāvāda conclusion is that the living entity and the Supersoul are one; there is no difference. The Māyāvādīs proclaim that there is no separate existence outside the impersonal Brahman and that the feeling of separation is māyā, or an illusion, by which one considers a rope to be a snake. The rope-and-the-snake argument is generally offered by the Māyāvādī philosophers. Therefore these words, which represent vivarta-vāda, are specifically mentioned herein. Actually Paramātmā, the Supersoul, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and He is eternally liberated. In other words, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is living within this body along with the individual soul, and this is confirmed in the Vedas. They are likened to two friends sitting on the same tree. Yet Paramātmā is above the illusory energy. The illusory energy is called bahiraṅgā śakti, or external energy, and the living entity is called taṭasthā śakti, or marginal potency. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā, the material energy, represented as earth, water, air, fire, sky, etc., and the spiritual energy, the living entity, are both energies of the Supreme Lord. Even though the energies and the energetic are identical, the living entity, individual soul, being prone to be influenced by the external energy, considers the Supreme Personality of Godhead to be one with himself. The word prapadye is also significant in this verse, for it refers to the conclusion of the Bhagavad-gītā (18.66): sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja. In another place the Lord says: bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate (Bg. 7.19). This prapadye or śaraṇaṁ vraja refers to the individual’s surrender to the Supersoul. The individual soul, when surrendered, can understand that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, although situated within the heart of the individual soul, is superior to the individual soul. The Lord is always transcendental to the material manifestation, even though it appears that the Lord and the material manifestation are one and the same. According to the Vaiṣṇava philosophy, He is one and different simultaneously. The material energy is a manifestation of His external potency, and since the potency is identical with the potent, it appears that the Lord and individual soul are one; but actually the individual soul is under the influence of material energy, and the Lord is always transcendental to it. Unless the Lord is superior to the individual soul, there is no question of prapadye, or surrender unto Him. This word prapadye refers to the process of devotional service. Simply by nondevotional speculation on the rope and the snake, one cannot approach the Absolute Truth. Therefore devotional service is stressed as more important than deliberation or mental speculation to understand the Absolute Truth. |
TEXT 39 YaTPaadPaªJaPal/aXaivl/aSa>a¢-ya k-MaaRXaYa& Ga]iQaTaMaud(Ga]QaYaiNTa SaNTa" ) TaÜà ir¢-MaTaYaae YaTaYaae_iPa åÖ‚- óaeTaaeGa<aaSTaMar<a& >aJa vaSaudevMa( )) 39 )) yat-pāda-paṅkaja-palāśa-vilāsa-bhaktyā karmāśayaṁ grathitam udgrathayanti santaḥ tadvan na rikta-matayo yatayo ’pi ruddha- sroto-gaṇās tam araṇaṁ bhaja vāsudevam SYNONYMS yat—whose; pāda—feet; paṅkaja—lotus; palāśa—petals or toes; vilāsa—enjoyment; bhaktyā—by devotional service; karma—fruitive activities; āśayam—desire; grathitam—hard knot; udgrathayanti—root out; santaḥ—devotees; tat—that; vat—like; na—never; rikta-matayaḥ—persons devoid of devotional service; yatayaḥ—ever-increasingly trying; api—even though; ruddha—stopped; srotaḥ-gaṇāḥ—the waves of sense enjoyment; tam—unto Him; araṇam—worthy to take shelter; bhaja—engage in devotional service; vāsudevam—unto Kṛṣṇa, the son of Vasudeva. TRANSLATION The devotees, who are always engaged in the service of the toes of the lotus feet of the Lord, can very easily overcome hard-knotted desires for fruitive activities. Because this is very difficult, the nondevotees—the jñānīs and yogīs—although trying to stop the waves of sense gratification, cannot do so. Therefore you are advised to engage in the devotional service of Kṛṣṇa, the son of Vasudeva. PURPORT There are three kinds of transcendentalists trying to overcome the influence of the modes of material nature—the jñānīs, yogīs and bhaktas. All of them attempt to overcome the influence of the senses, which is compared to the incessant waves of a river. The waves of a river flow incessantly, and it is very difficult to stop them. Similarly, the waves of desire for material enjoyment are so strong that they cannot be stopped by any process other than bhakti-yoga. The bhaktas, by their transcendental devotional service unto the lotus feet of the Lord, become so overwhelmed with transcendental bliss that automatically their desires for material enjoyment stop. The jñānīs and yogīs, who are not attached to the lotus feet of the Lord, simply struggle against the waves of desire. They are described in this verse as rikta-matayaḥ, which means “devoid of devotional service.” In other words, the jñānīs and yogīs, although trying to be free from the desires of material activities, actually become more and more entangled in false philosophical speculation or strenuous attempts to stop the activities of the senses. As stated previously: vāsudeve bhagavati bhakti-yogaḥ prayojitaḥ janayaty āśu vairāgyaṁ jñānaṁ ca yad ahaitukam (Bhāg. 1.2.7) Here also the same point is stressed. Bhaja vāsudevam indicates that one who is engaged in the loving service of Kṛṣṇa, the son of Vasudeva, can very easily stop the waves of desires. As long as one continues to try to artificially stop the waves of desires, he will certainly be defeated. That is indicated in this verse. Desires for fruitive activities are strongly rooted, but the trees of desire can be uprooted completely by devotional service because devotional service employs superior desire. One can give up inferior desires when engaged in superior desires. To try to stop desires is impossible. One has to desire the Supreme in order not to be entangled in inferior desires. Jñānīs maintain a desire to become one with the Supreme, but such desire is also considered to be kāma, lust. Similarly, the yogīs desire mystic power, and that is also kāma. And the bhaktas, not being desirous of any sort of material enjoyment, become purified. There is no artificial attempt to stop desire. Desire becomes a source of spiritual enjoyment under the protection of the toes of the lotus feet of the Lord. It is stated herein by the Kumāras that the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa are the ultimate reservoir of all pleasure. One should therefore take shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord instead of trying unsuccessfully to stop desires for material enjoyment. As long as one is unable to stop the desire for material enjoyment, there is no possibility of becoming liberated from the entanglement of material existence. It may be argued that the waves of a river are incessantly flowing and that they cannot be stopped, but the waves of the river flow toward the sea. When the tide comes over the river, it overwhelms the flowing of the river, and the river itself becomes overflooded, and the waves from the sea become more prominent than the waves from the river. Similarly, a devotee with intelligence plans so many things for the service of the Lord in Kṛṣṇa consciousness that stagnant material desires become overflooded by the desire to serve the Lord. As confirmed by Yāmunācārya, since he has been engaged in the service of the lotus feet of the Lord, there is always a current of newer and newer desires flowing to serve the Lord, so much so that the stagnant desire of sex life becomes very insignificant. Yāmunācārya even says that he spits on such desires. Bhagavad-gītā (2.59) also confirms: paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate. The conclusion is that by developing a loving desire for the service of the lotus feet of the Lord, we subdue all material desires for sense gratification. |
k*-C^\ae MahaiNah >ava<aRvMaâveXaa& zÍGaRNa§-MaSau%eNa iTaTaqzRiNTa ) Tatv& hre>aRGavTaae >aJaNaqYaMax(iga]& k*-Tvae@uPa& VYaSaNaMautar duSTara<aRMa( )) 40 )) kṛcchro mahān iha bhavārṇavam aplaveśāṁ ṣaḍ-varga-nakram asukhena titīrṣanti tat tvaṁ harer bhagavato bhajanīyam aṅghriṁ kṛtvoḍupaṁ vyasanam uttara dustarārṇam SYNONYMS kṛcchraḥ—troublesome; mahān—very great; iha—here (in this life); bhava-arṇavam—ocean of material existence; aplava-īśām—of the nondevotees, who have not taken shelter of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; ṣaṭ-varga—six senses; nakram—sharks; asukhena—with great difficulty; titīrṣanti—cross over; tat—therefore; tvam—you; hareḥ—of the Personality of Godhead; bhagavataḥ—of the Supreme; bhajanīyam—worthy of worship; aṅghrim—the lotus feet; kṛtvā—making; uḍupam—boat; vyasanam—all kinds of dangers; uttara—cross over; dustara—very difficult; arṇam—the ocean. TRANSLATION The ocean of nescience is very difficult to cross because it is infested with many dangerous sharks. Although those who are nondevotees undergo severe austerities and penances to cross that ocean, we recommend that you simply take shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord, which are like boats for crossing the ocean. Although the ocean is difficult to cross, by taking shelter of His lotus feet you will overcome all dangers. PURPORT Material existence is compared herein to the great ocean of nescience. Another name of this ocean is Vaitaraṇī. In that Vaitaraṇī Ocean, which is the Causal Ocean, there are innumerable universes floating like footballs. On the other side of the ocean is the spiritual world of Vaikuṇṭha, which is described in Bhagavad-gītā (8.20) as paras tasmāt tu bhāvo ’nyaḥ. Thus there is an ever-existing spiritual nature which is beyond this material nature. Even though all the material universes are annihilated again and again in the Causal Ocean, the Vaikuṇṭha planets, which are spiritual, exist eternally and are not subject to dissolution. The human form of life gives the living entity a chance to cross the ocean of nescience, which is this material universe, and enter into the spiritual sky. Although there are many methods or boats by which one can cross the ocean, the Kumāras recommend that the King take shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord, just as one would take shelter of a good boat. Nondevotees, who do not take shelter of the Lord’s lotus feet, try to cross the ocean of nescience by other methods (karma, jñāna and yoga), but they have a great deal of trouble. Indeed, sometimes they become so busy simply enjoying their troubles that they never cross the ocean. There is no guarantee that the nondevotees will cross the ocean, but even though they manage to cross, they have to undergo severe austerities and penances. On the other hand, anyone who takes to the process of devotional service and has faith that the lotus feet of the Lord are safe boats to cross that ocean is certain to cross very easily and comfortably. Pṛthu Mahārāja is therefore advised to take the boat of the lotus feet of the Lord to easily cross over all dangers. Dangerous elements in the universe are compared to sharks in the ocean. Even though one may be a very expert swimmer, he cannot possibly survive if he is attacked by sharks. One often sees that many so-called svāmīs and yogīs sometimes advertise themselves as competent to cross the ocean of nescience and to help others cross, but in actuality they are found to be simply victims of their own senses. Instead of helping their followers to cross the ocean of nescience, such svāmīs and yogīs fall prey to māyā, represented by the fair sex, woman, and are thus devoured by the sharks in that ocean. |
TEXT 42 raJaaevac k*-Taae Mae_NauGa]h" PaUv| hir<aaTaaRNauk-iMPaNaa ) TaMaaPaadiYaTau& b]øNa( >aGavNa( YaUYaMaaGaTaa" )) 42 )) rājovāca kṛto me ’nugrahaḥ pūrvaṁ hariṇārtānukampinā tam āpādayituṁ brahman bhagavan yūyam āgatāḥ SYNONYMS rājā uvāca—the King said; kṛtaḥ—done; me—unto me; anugrahaḥ—causeless mercy; pūrvam—formerly; hariṇā—by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Viṣṇu; ārta-anukampinā—compassionate for persons in distress; tam—that; āpādayitum—to confirm it; brahman—O brāhmaṇa; bhagavan—O powerful one; yūyam—all of you; āgatāḥ—have arrived here. TRANSLATION The King said: O brāhmaṇa, O powerful one, formerly Lord Viṣṇu showed me His causeless mercy, indicating that you would come to my house, and to confirm that blessing, you have all come. PURPORT When Lord Viṣṇu appeared in the great arena of sacrifice at the time when King Pṛthu was performing a great sacrifice (aśvamedha), He predicted that the Kumāras would very soon come and advise the King. Therefore Pṛthu Mahārāja remembered the causeless mercy of the Lord and thus welcomed the arrival of the Kumāras, who were fulfilling the Lord’s prediction. In other words, when the Lord makes a prediction, He fulfills that prediction through some of His devotees. Similarly, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu predicted that both His glorious names and the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra would be broadcast in all the towns and villages of the world. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura and Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Prabhupāda desired to fulfill this great prediction, and we are following in their footsteps. Regarding His devotees, Lord Kṛṣṇa told Arjuna, kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati: “O son of Kuntī, declare it boldly that My devotee will never perish.” (Bg. 9.31) The point is that the Lord Himself could declare such things, but it was His desire to make the declaration through Arjuna and thus doubly assure that His promise would never be broken. The Lord Himself promises, and His confidential devotees execute the promise. The Lord makes so many promises for the benefit of suffering humanity. Although the Lord is very compassionate upon suffering humanity, human beings are generally not very anxious to serve Him. The relationship is something like that between the father and the son; the father is always anxious for the welfare of the son, even though the son forgets or neglects the father. The word anukampinā is significant; the Lord is so compassionate upon the living entities that He comes Himself into this world in order to benefit fallen souls. yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata abhyutthānam adharmasya tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham “Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion—at that time I descend Myself.” (Bg. 4.7) Thus it is out of compassion that the Lord appears in His different forms. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa appeared on this planet out of compassion for fallen souls; Lord Buddha appeared out of compassion for the poor animals who were being killed by the demons; Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva appeared out of compassion for Prahlāda Mahārāja. The conclusion is that the Lord is so compassionate upon the fallen souls within this material world that He comes Himself or sends His devotees and His servants to fulfill His desire to have all the fallen souls come back home, back to Godhead. Thus Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa instructed Bhagavad-gītā to Arjuna for the benefit of the entire human society. Intelligent men should therefore seriously consider this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and fully utilize the instructions of Bhagavad-gītā as preached without adulteration by His pure devotees. |
TEXT 49 vENYaSTau DauYaaeR MahTaa& Sa&iSQaTYaaDYaaTMaiXa+aYaa ) Aaák-aMaiMavaTMaaNa& MaeNa AaTMaNYaviSQaTa" )) 49 )) vainyas tu dhuryo mahatāṁ saṁsthityādhyātma-śikṣayā āpta-kāmam ivātmānaṁ mena ātmany avasthitaḥ SYNONYMS vainyaḥ—the son of Vena Mahārāja (Pṛthu); tu—of course; dhuryaḥ—the chief; mahatām—of great personalities; saṁsthityā—being completely fixed; ādhyātma-śikṣayā—in the matter of self-realization; āpta—achieved; kāmam—desires; iva—like; ātmānam—in self-satisfaction; mene—considered; ātmani—in the self; avasthitaḥ—situated. TRANSLATION Amongst great personalities, Mahārāja Pṛthu was the chief by virtue of his fixed position in relation to spiritual enlightenment. He remained satisfied as one who has achieved all success in spiritual understanding. PURPORT Remaining fixed in devotional service gives one the utmost in self-satisfaction. Actually self-satisfaction can be achieved only by pure devotees, who have no desire other than to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Since the Supreme Personality of Godhead has nothing to desire, He is fully satisfied with Himself. Similarly, a devotee who has no desire other than to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead is as self-satisfied as the Supreme Lord. Everyone is hankering after peace of mind and self-satisfaction, but these can only be achieved by becoming a pure devotee of the Lord. King Pṛthu’s statements in previous verses regarding his vast knowledge and perfect devotional service are justified here, for he is considered best amongst all mahātmās. In Bhagavad-gītā (9.13) Śrī Kṛṣṇa speaks of mahātmās in this way: mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ bhajanty ananya-manaso jñātvā bhūtādim avyayam “O son of Pṛthā, those who are not deluded, the great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible.” The mahātmās are not under the clutches of the illusory energy but are under the protection of the spiritual energy. Because of this, the real mahātmā is always engaged in the devotional service of the Lord. Pṛthu Mahārāja exhibited all the symptoms of a mahātmā; therefore he is mentioned in this verse as dhuryo mahatām, best of the mahātmās. |
TEXT 51 f-l&/ b]øi<a Sa&NYaSYa iNaivRz(r)" SaMaaihTa" ) k-MaaRDYa+a& c MaNvaNa AaTMaaNa& Pa[k*-Tae" ParMa( )) 51 )) phalaṁ brahmaṇi sannyasya nirviṣaṅgaḥ samāhitaḥ karmādhyakṣaṁ ca manvāna ātmānaṁ prakṛteḥ param SYNONYMS phalam—result; brahmaṇi—in the Absolute Truth; sannyasya—giving up; nirviṣaṅgaḥ—without being contaminated; samāhitaḥ—completely dedicated; karma—activity; adhyakṣam—superintendent; ca—and; manvānaḥ—always thinking of; ātmānam—the Supersoul; prakṛteḥ—of material nature; param—transcendental. TRANSLATION Mahārāja Pṛthu completely dedicated himself to be an eternal servant of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, transcendental to material nature. Consequently all the fruits of his activities were dedicated to the Lord, and he always thought of himself as the servant of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the proprietor of everything. PURPORT The life and dedication of Mahārāja Pṛthu in the transcendental loving service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead serve as a good example of karma-yoga. The term karma-yoga is often used in Bhagavad-gīta-, and herein Mahārāja Pṛthu is giving a practical example of what karma-yoga actually is. The first requirement for the proper execution of karma-yoga is given herein. phalaṁ brahmaṇi sannyasya (or vinyasya): one must give the fruits of his activities to the Supreme Brahman, Parabrahman, Kṛṣṇa. By doing so, one actually situates himself in the renounced order of life, sannyāsa. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (18.2), giving up the fruits of one’s activities to the Supreme Personality of Godhead is called sannyāsa. kāmyānāṁ karmaṇāṁ nyāsaṁ sannyāsaṁ kavayo viduḥ sarva-karma-phala-tyāgaṁ prāhus tyāgaṁ vicakṣaṇāḥ “To give up the results of all activities is called renunciation [tyāga] by the wise. And that state is called the renounced order of life [sannyāsa] by great learned men.” Although he was living as a householder, Pṛthu Mahārāja was actually in the renounced order of life, sannyāsa. This will be clearer in the following verses. The word nirviṣaṅgaḥ (“uncontaminated”) is very significant because Mahārāja Pṛthu was not attached to the results of his activities. In this material world a person is always thinking of the proprietorship of everything he accumulates or works for. When the fruits of one’s activities are rendered to the service of the Lord, one is actually practicing karma-yoga. Anyone can practice karma-yoga, but it is especially easy for the householder, who can install the Deity of the Lord in the home and worship Him according to the methods of bhakti-yoga. This method includes nine items: hearing, chanting, remembering, serving, worshiping the Deity, praying, carrying out orders, serving Kṛṣṇa as friend and sacrificing everything for Him. śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ sakhyam ātma-nivedanam (Bhāg. 7.5.23) These methods of karma-yoga and bhakti-yoga are being broadcast all over the world by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Anyone can learn these methods simply by following the examples of the members of the Society. In one’s home or in a temple, the Deity is considered the proprietor of everything, and everyone is considered the Deity’s eternal servant. The Lord is transcendental, for He is not part of this material creation. The words prakṛteḥ param are used in this verse because everything within this material world is created by the external, material energy of the Lord, but the Lord Himself is not a creation of this material energy. The Lord is the supreme superintendent of all material creations, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (9.10): mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram hetunānena kaunteya jagad viparivartate “This material nature is working under My direction, O son of Kuntī, producing all the moving and unmoving beings, and by its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again.” All material changes and material progress taking place by the wonderful interaction of matter are under the superintendence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. Events in the material world are not taking place blindly. If one always remains a servant of Kṛṣṇa and engages everything in His service, one is accepted as jīvan-mukta, a liberated soul, even during his lifetime within the material world. Generally liberation takes place after one gives up this body, but one who lives according to the example of Pṛthu Mahārāja is liberated even in this lifetime. In Kṛṣṇa consciousness the results of one’s activities depend on the will of the Supreme Person. Indeed, in all cases the result is not dependent on one’s own personal dexterity but is completely dependent on the will of the Supreme. This is the real significance of phalaṁ brahmaṇi sannyasya. A soul dedicated to the service of the Lord should never think of himself as the personal proprietor or the superintendent. A dedicated devotee should prosecute his work according to the rules and regulations described in devotional service. The results of his activities are completely dependent on the supreme will of the Lord. |
TEXT 52 Ga*hezu vTaRMaaNaae_iPa Sa SaaMa]aJYaié[YaaiNvTa" ) NaaSaÂTaeiNd]YaaQaeRzu iNarh&MaiTarkR-vTa( )) 52 )) gṛheṣu vartamāno ’pi sa sāmrājya-śriyānvitaḥ nāsajjatendriyārtheṣu niraham-matir arkavat SYNONYMS gṛheṣu—at home; vartamānaḥ—being present; api—although; saḥ—King Pṛthu; sāmrājya—the entire empire; śriyā—opulence; anvitaḥ—being absorbed in; na—never; asajjata—became attracted; indriya-artheṣu—for sense gratification; niḥ—nor; aham—I am; matiḥ—consideration; arka—the sun; vat—like. TRANSLATION Mahārāja Pṛthu, who was very opulent due to the prosperity of his entire empire, remained at home as a householder. Since he was never inclined to utilize his opulences for the gratification of his senses, he remained unattached, exactly like the sun, which is unaffected in all circumstances. PURPORT The word gṛheṣu is significant in this verse. Out of the four āśramas—the brahmacarya, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsa—only a gṛhastha, or householder, is allowed to associate with women; therefore the gṛhastha-āśrama is a kind of license for sense gratification given to the devotee. Pṛthu Mahārāja was special in that although he was given license to remain a householder, and although he possessed immense opulences in his kingdom, he never engaged in sense gratification. This was a special sign that indicated him to be a pure devotee of the Lord. A pure devotee is never attracted by sense gratification, and consequently he is liberated. In material life a person engages in sense gratification for his own personal satisfaction, but in the devotional or liberated life one aims to satisfy the senses of the Lord. In this verse Mahārāja Pṛthu is likened to the sun (arka-vat). Sometimes the sun shines on stool, urine and so many other polluted things, but since the sun is all-powerful, it is never affected by the polluted things with which it associates. On the contrary, the sunshine sterilizes and purifies polluted and dirty places. Similarly, a devotee may engage in so many material activities, but because he has no desire for sense gratification, they never affect him. On the contrary, he dovetails all material activities for the service of the Lord. Since a pure devotee knows how to utilize everything for the Lord’s service, he is never affected by material activities. Instead, by his transcendental plans he purifies such activities. This is described in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu. Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tat-paratvena nirmalam: [Cc. Madhya 19.170] his aim is to become completely purified in the service of the Lord without being affected by material designations. |
TEXT 57 duDaRzRSTaeJaSaevaiGanMaRheNd] wv duJaRYa" ) iTaiTa+aYaa Dair}aqv ÛaEirva>aqídae Na*<aaMa( )) 57 )) durdharṣas tejasevāgnir mahendra iva durjayaḥ titikṣayā dharitrīva dyaur ivābhīṣṭa-do nṛṇām SYNONYMS durdharṣaḥ—unconquerable; tejasā—by prowess; iva—like; agniḥ—fire; mahā-indraḥ—the King of heaven; iva—likened; durjayaḥ—insuperable; titikṣayā—by tolerance; dharitrī—the earth; iva—like; dyauḥ—the heavenly planets; iva—like; abhīṣṭa-daḥ—fulfilling desires; nṛṇām—of human society. TRANSLATION Mahārāja Pṛthu was so strong and powerful that no one could disobey his orders any more than one could conquer fire itself. He was so strong that he was compared to Indra, the King of heaven, whose power is insuperable. On the other hand, Mahārāja Pṛthu was also as tolerant as the earth, and in fulfilling various desires of human society, he was like heaven itself. PURPORT It is the duty of a king to give protection to the citizens and to fulfill their desires. At the same time, the citizens must obey the laws of the state. Mahārāja Pṛthu maintained all the standards of good government, and he was so invincible that no one could disobey his orders any more than a person could stop heat and light emanating from a fire. He was so strong and powerful that he was compared to the King of heaven, Indra. In this age modern scientists have been experimenting with nuclear weapons, and in a former age they used to release brahmāstras, but all these brahmāstras and nuclear weapons are insignificant compared to the thunderbolt of the King of heaven. When Indra releases a thunderbolt, even the biggest hills and mountains crack. On the other hand, Mahārāja Pṛthu was as tolerant as the earth itself, and he fulfilled all the desires of his citizens just like torrents of rain from the sky. Without rainfall, it is not possible to fulfill one’s various desires on this planet. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (3.14), parjanyād anna-sambhavaḥ: food grains are produced only because rain falls from the sky, and without grains, no one on the earth can be satisfied. Consequently an unlimited distribution of mercy is compared to the water falling from the clouds. Mahārāja Pṛthu distributed his mercy incessantly, much like rainfall. In other words, Mahārāja Pṛthu was softer than a rose flower and harder than a thunderbolt. In this way he ruled over his kingdom. |
MaE}aeYa ovac d*îaTMaaNa& Pa[vYaSaMaek-da vENYa AaTMavaNa( ) AaTMaNaa viDaRTaaXaezSvaNauSaGaR" Pa[JaaPaiTa" )) 1 )) JaGaTaSTaSQauzêaiPa v*itadae DaMaR>a*TSaTaaMa( ) iNaZPaaidTaeìradeXaae YadQaRiMah JaijvaNa( )) 2 )) AaTMaJaeZvaTMaJaa& NYaSYa ivrhad]udTaqiMav ) Pa[JaaSau ivMaNa"Svek-" Sadarae_GaataPaaevNaMa( )) 3 )) maitreya uvāca dṛṣṭvātmānaṁ pravayasam ekadā vainya ātmavān ātmanā vardhitāśeṣa- svānusargaḥ prajāpatiḥ jagatas tasthuṣaś cāpi vṛttido dharma-bhṛt satām niṣpāditeśvarādeśo yad-artham iha jajñivān ātmajeṣv ātmajāṁ nyasya virahād rudatīm iva prajāsu vimanaḥsv ekaḥ sa-dāro ’gāt tapo-vanam SYNONYMS maitreyaḥ uvāca—the sage Maitreya continued to speak; dṛṣṭvā—after seeing; ātmānam—of the body; pravayasam—old age; ekadā—once upon a time; vainyaḥ—King Pṛthu; ātma-vān—fully conversant in spiritual education; ātmanā—by oneself; vardhita—increased; aśeṣa—unlimitedly; sva-anusargaḥ—creation of material opulences; prajā-patiḥ—a protector of citizens; jagataḥ—moving; tasthuṣaḥ—not moving; ca—also; api—certainly; vṛtti-daḥ—one who gives pensions; dharma-bhṛt—one who observes the religious principles; satām—of the devotees; niṣpādita—fully executed; īśvara—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; ādeśaḥ—order; yat-artham—in coordination with Him; iha—in this world; jajñivān—performed; ātma-jeṣu—unto his sons; ātma-jām—the earth; nyasya—indicating; virahāt—out of separation; rudatīm iva—just like lamenting; prajāsu—unto the citizens; vimanaḥsu—unto the aggrieved; ekaḥ—alone; sa-dāraḥ—with his wife; agāt—went; tapaḥ-vanam—in the forest where one can execute austerities. TRANSLATION At the last stage of his life, when Mahārāja Pṛthu saw himself getting old, that great soul, who was king of the world, divided whatever opulence he had accumulated amongst all kinds of living entities, moving and nonmoving. He arranged pensions for everyone according to religious principles, and after executing the orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in complete coordination with Him, he dedicated his sons unto the earth, which was considered to be his daughter. Then Mahārāja Pṛthu left the presence of his citizens, who were almost lamenting and crying from feeling separation from the King, and went to the forest alone with his wife to perform austerities. PURPORT Mahārāja Pṛthu was one of the śaktyāveśa incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and as such he appeared on the surface of the earth to execute the orders of the Supreme. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā, the Supreme Lord is the proprietor of all planets, and He is always anxious to see that in each and every planet the living entities are happily living and executing their duties. As soon as there is some discrepancy in the execution of duties, the Lord appears on earth, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (4.7): yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata. Since there were so many discrepancies during the reign of King Vena, the Lord sent His most confidential devotee Mahārāja Pṛthu to settle things. Therefore, after executing the orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and settling the affairs of the world, Mahārāja Pṛthu was ready to retire. He had been exemplary in his governmental administration, and now he was to become exemplary in his retirement. He divided all his property amongst his sons and appointed them to rule the world, and then he went to the forest with his wife. It is significant in this connection that it is said that Mahārāja Pṛthu retired alone and at the same time took his wife with him. According to Vedic principles, when retiring from family life, one can take his wife with him, for the husband and wife are considered to be one unit. Thus they can both combinedly perform austerities for liberation. This is the path that Mahārāja Pṛthu, who was an exemplary character, followed, and this is also the way of Vedic civilization. One should not simply remain at home until the time of death, but should separate from family life at a timely moment and prepare himself to go back to Godhead. As a śaktyāveśa incarnation of God who had actually come from Vaikuṇṭha as a representative of Kṛṣṇa, Mahārāja Pṛthu was certain to go back to Godhead. Nonetheless, in order to set the example in all ways, he also underwent severe austerities in the tapo-vana. It appears that in those days there were many tapo-vanas, or forests especially meant for retirement and the practice of austerities. Indeed, it was compulsory for everyone to go to the tapo-vana to fully accept the shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for it is very difficult to retire from family life and at the same time remain at home. |
TEXT 7 iTaiTa+auYaRTavaGdaNTa OßR„reTaa iJaTaaiNal/" ) AairraDaiYazu" k*-Z<aMacrtaPa otaMaMa( )) 7 )) titikṣur yata-vāg dānta ūrdhva-retā jitānilaḥ ārirādhayiṣuḥ kṛṣṇam acarat tapa uttamam SYNONYMS titikṣuḥ—tolerating; yata—controlling; vāk—words; dāntaḥ—controlling the senses; ūrdhva-retāḥ—without discharge of semen; jita-anilaḥ—controlling the life air; ārirādhayiṣuḥ—simply desiring; kṛṣṇam—Lord Kṛṣṇa; acarat—practice; tapaḥ—austerities; uttamam—the best. TRANSLATION Mahārāja Pṛthu underwent all these severe austerities in order to control his words and his senses, to refrain from discharging his semen and to control the life air within his body. All this he did for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa. He had no other purpose. PURPORT In Kali-yuga the following is recommended: harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā [Adi 17.21] In order to be recognized by Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one should chant the holy name of the Lord continuously, twenty-four hours a day. Unfortunate persons who cannot accept this formula prefer to execute some type of pseudomeditation, without accepting the other processes of austerity. The fact is, however, that one must accept either the severe method of austerity described above to become purified or take to the process of devotional service recommended for pleasing the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa. The person who is Kṛṣṇa conscious is most intelligent because in Kali-yuga it is not at all possible to undergo such severe austerities. We need only follow great personalities like Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. In His Śikṣāṣṭaka, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu wrote, paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam: all glories to the holy names of Lord Kṛṣṇa, which from the very beginning purify the heart and immediately liberate one. Bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpanam. If the real purpose of all yoga is to please Lord Kṛṣṇa, then this simple bhakti-yoga system recommended for this age is sufficient. It is necessary, however, to engage constantly in the service of the Lord. Although Pṛthu Mahārāja executed his austerities long before the appearance of Lord Kṛṣṇa on this planet, his purpose was still to please Kṛṣṇa. There are many fools who claim that worship of Kṛṣṇa began only about five thousand years ago, after the appearance of Lord Kṛṣṇa in India, but this is not a fact. Pṛthu Mahārāja worshiped Kṛṣṇa millions of years ago, for Pṛthu happened to be a descendant of the family of Mahārāja Dhruva, who reigned for thirty-six thousand years during the Satya-yuga age. Unless his total life-span was one hundred thousand years, how could Dhruva Mahārāja reign over the world for thirty-six thousand years? The point is that Kṛṣṇa worship existed at the beginning of creation and has continued to exist throughout Satya-yuga, Tretā-yuga and Dvāpara-yuga, and now it is continuing in Kali-yuga. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa appears not only in this millennium of Brahmā’s life, but in every millennium. Therefore worship of Kṛṣṇa is conducted in all millenniums. It is not that Kṛṣṇa worship began only when Kṛṣṇa appeared on this planet five thousand years ago. This is a foolish conclusion that is not substantiated by Vedic literatures. Also of significance in this verse are the words ārirādhayiṣuḥ kṛṣṇam acarat tapa uttamam. Mahārāja Pṛthu underwent severe types of austerities for the express purpose of worshiping Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is so kind, especially in this age, that He appears in the transcendental vibration of His holy name. As is said in the Nārada-pañcarātra, ārādhito yadi haris tapasā tataḥ kim. If Kṛṣṇa is worshiped, if He is the goal of advancement, there is no need for one to execute severe types of tapasya, because one has already reached his destination. If, after executing all types of tapasya, one cannot reach Kṛṣṇa, all his tapasya has no value, for without Kṛṣṇa all austerity is simply wasted labor. Śrama eva hi kevalam (Bhāg. 1.2.8). We should therefore not be discouraged just because we cannot go to the forest and practice severe austerities. Our life is so short that we must strictly adhere to the principles laid down by the Vaiṣṇava ācāryas and peacefully execute Kṛṣṇa consciousness. There is no need to become despondent. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura recommends: ānande bala hari, bhaja vṛndāvana, śri-guru-vaiṣṇava-pade majāiyā mana. For a transcendental, blissful life, chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, come worship the holy place of Vṛndāvana, and always engage in the service of the Lord, of the spiritual master and of the Vaiṣṇavas. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is therefore very safe and easy. We have only to execute the order of the Lord and fully surrender unto Him. We have only to execute the order of the spiritual master, preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness and follow in the path of the Vaiṣṇavas. The spiritual master represents both Lord Kṛṣṇa and the Vaiṣṇavas; therefore by following the instructions of the spiritual master and by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, everything will be all right. |
TEXT 8 TaeNa §-MaaNauiSaÖeNa ßSTak-MaRMal/aXaYa" ) Pa[a<aaYaaMaE" SaiàåÖzÍGaRiX^àbNDaNa" )) 8 )) tena kramānusiddhena dhvasta-karma-malāśayaḥ prāṇāyāmaiḥ sanniruddha- ṣaḍ-vargaś chinna-bandhanaḥ SYNONYMS tena—thus by practicing such austerities; krama—gradually; anu—constantly; siddhena—by perfection; dhvasta—smashed; karma—fruitive activities; mala—dirty things; āśayaḥ—desire; prāṇa-āyāmaiḥ—by practice of prāṇāyāma-yoga, breathing exercises; san—being; niruddha—stopped; ṣaṭ-vargaḥ—the mind and the senses; chinna-bandhanaḥ—completely cut off from all bondage. TRANSLATION By thus practicing severe austerities, Mahārāja Pṛthu gradually became steadfast in spiritual life and completely free of all desires for fruitive activities. He also practiced breathing exercises to control his mind and senses, and by such control he became completely free from all desires for fruitive activity. PURPORT The word prāṇāyāmaiḥ is very important in this verse because the haṭha-yogīs and aṣṭāṅga-yogīs practice prāṇāyāma, but generally they do not know the purpose behind it. The purpose of prāṇāyāma, or mystic yoga, is to stop the mind and senses from engaging in fruitive activities. The so-called yogīs who practice in Western countries have no idea of this. The aim of prāṇāyāma is not to make the body strong and fit for working hard. The aim is worship of Kṛṣṇa. In the previous verse it was specifically mentioned that whatever austerity, prāṇāyāma and mystic yoga practices Pṛthu Mahārāja performed were performed for the sake of worshiping Kṛṣṇa. Thus Pṛthu Mahārāja serves as a perfect example for yogīs also. Whatever he did, he did to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. The minds of those who are addicted to fruitive activity are always filled with unclean desires. Fruitive activities are symptomatic of our polluted desire to dominate material nature. As long as one continues to be subject to polluted desires, he has to accept one material body after another. So-called yogīs, without knowledge of the real purpose of yoga, practice it in order to keep the body fit. Thus they engage themselves in fruitive activities, and thus they are bound by desire to accept another body. They are not aware that the ultimate goal of life is to approach Kṛṣṇa. In order to save such yogīs from wandering throughout the different species of life, the śāstras warn that in this age such yogic practice is simply a waste of time. The only means of elevation is the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. King Pṛthu’s activities took place in Satya-yuga, and in this age this practice of yoga is misunderstood by fallen souls who are not capable of practicing anything. Consequently the śāstras enjoin: kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā. The conclusion is that unless the karmīs, jñānīs and yogīs come to the point of devotional service to Lord Kṛṣṇa, their so-called austerities and yoga have no value. Nārādhitaḥ: if Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is not worshiped, there is no point in practicing meditational yoga, performing karma-yoga or culturing empiric knowledge. As far as prāṇāyāma is concerned, chanting of the holy name of the Lord and dancing in ecstasy are also considered prāṇāyāma. In a previous verse, Sanat-kumāra instructed Mahārāja Pṛthu to engage constantly in the service of the Supreme Lord, Vāsudeva: yat pāda-paṅkaja-palāśa-vilāsa-bhaktyā karmāśayaṁ grathitam udgrathayanti santaḥ Only by worshiping Vāsudeva can one become free from the desires of fruitive activities. Outside of worshiping Vāsudeva, the yogīs and jñānīs cannot attain freedom from such desires. tadvan na rikta-matayo yatayo ’pi ruddha- sroto-gaṇās tam araṇaṁ bhaja vāsudevam (Bhāg. 4.22.39) Here the word prāṇāyāma does not refer to any ulterior motive. The actual aim is to strengthen the mind and senses in order to engage them in devotional service. In the present age this determination can be very easily acquired simply by chanting the holy names—Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. |
TEXT 9 SaNaTku-Maarae >aGavaNa( YadahaDYaaiTMak&- ParMa( ) YaaeGa& TaeNaEv PauåzMa>aJaTPauåzzR>a" )) 9 )) sanat-kumāro bhagavān yad āhādhyātmikaṁ param yogaṁ tenaiva puruṣam abhajat puruṣarṣabhaḥ SYNONYMS sanat-kumāraḥ—Sanat-kumāra; bhagavān—most powerful; yat—that which; āha—said; ādhyātmikam—spiritual advancement of life; param—ultimate; yogam—mysticism; tena—by that; eva—certainly; puruṣam—the Supreme Person; abhajat—worshiped; puruṣa-ṛṣabhaḥ—the best of human beings. TRANSLATION Thus the best amongst human beings, Mahārāja Pṛthu, followed that path of spiritual advancement which was advised by Sanat-kumāra. That is to say, he worshiped the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. PURPORT In this verse it is clearly said that Mahārāja Pṛthu, practicing the prāṇāyāma-yoga system, engaged in the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead as advised by the saint Sanat-kumāra. In this verse the words puruṣam abhajat puruṣarṣabhaḥ are significant: puruṣarṣabha refers to Mahārāja Pṛthu, the best amongst human beings, and puruṣam refers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The conclusion is that the best man amongst all men engages in the service of the Supreme Person. One puruṣa is worshipable, and the other puruṣa is the worshiper. When the puruṣa who worships, the living entity, thinks of becoming one with the Supreme person, he simply becomes bewildered and falls into the darkness of ignorance. As stated by Lord Kṛṣṇa in Bhagavad-gītā (2.12), all living entities assembled in the battlefield, as well as Kṛṣṇa Himself, were also present in the past as individuals and would continue to be present in the future as individuals also. Therefore the two puruṣas, the living entity and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, never lose their respective identities. Actually, one who is self-realized engages himself in the service of the Lord perpetually, both in this life and in the next. Indeed, for devotees there is no difference between this life and the next. In this life a neophyte devotee is trained to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and in the next life he approaches that Supreme Person in Vaikuṇṭha and renders the same devotional service. Even for the neophyte devotee, devotional service is considered brahma-bhūyāya kalpate. Devotional service to the Lord is never considered a material activity. Since he is acting on the brahma-bhūta platform, a devotee is already liberated. He therefore has no need to practice any other type of yoga in order to approach the brahma-bhūta stage. If the devotee adheres strictly to the orders of the spiritual master, follows the rules and regulations and chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, it should be concluded that he is already at the brahma-bhūta stage, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (14.26): māṁ ca yo ’vyabhicāreṇa bhakti-yogena sevate sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate “One who is engaged in full devotional service, unfailing in all circumstances, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman.” |
>aGavÖiMaR<a" SaaDaae" é[ÖYaa YaTaTa" Sada ) >ai¢->aRGaviTa b]ø<YaNaNYaivzYaa>avTa( )) 10 )) bhagavad-dharmiṇaḥ sādhoḥ śraddhayā yatataḥ sadā bhaktir bhagavati brahmaṇy ananya-viṣayābhavat SYNONYMS bhagavat-dharmiṇaḥ—one who executes devotional service; sādhoḥ—of the devotee; śraddhayā—with faith; yatataḥ—endeavoring; sadā—always; bhaktiḥ—devotion; bhagavati—unto the Personality of Godhead; brahmaṇi—the origin of impersonal Brahman; ananya-viṣayā—firmly fixed without deviation; abhavat—became. TRANSLATION Mahārāja Pṛthu thus engaged completely in devotional service, executing the rules and regulations strictly according to principles, twenty-four hours daily. Thus his love and devotion unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, developed and became unflinching and fixed. PURPORT The word bhagavad-dharmiṇaḥ indicates that the religious process practiced by Mahārāja Pṛthu was beyond all pretensions. As stated in the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.1.2), dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo ’tra: religious principles which are simply pretentious are actually nothing but cheating. Bhagavad-dharmiṇaḥ is described by Vīrarāghava Ācārya as nivṛtta-dharmeṇa, which indicates that it cannot be contaminated by material aspiration. As described by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī: When one who is not inspired by material desires and is not contaminated by the processes of fruitive activity and empiric speculation fully engages in the favorable service of the Lord, his service is called bhagavad-dharma, or pure devotional service. In this verse the word brahmaṇi does not refer to the impersonal Brahman. Impersonal Brahman is a subordinate feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and since impersonal Brahman worshipers desire to merge into the Brahman effulgence, they cannot be considered followers of bhagavad-dharma. After being baffled in his material enjoyment, the impersonalist may desire to merge into the existence of the Lord, but a pure devotee of the Lord has no such desire. Therefore a pure devotee is really bhagavad-dharmī. It is clear from this verse that Mahārāja Pṛthu was never a worshiper of the impersonal Brahman but was at all times a pure devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Bhagavati brahmaṇi refers to one who is engaged in devotional service to the Personality of Godhead. A devotee’s knowledge of the impersonal Brahman is automatically revealed, and he is not interested in merging into the impersonal Brahman. Mahārāja Pṛthu’s activities in devotional service enabled him to become fixed and steady in the discharge of devotional activities without having to take recourse to karma, jñāna or yoga. |
TEXT 11 TaSYaaNaYaa >aGavTa" Pairk-MaRéuÖ‚/- SatvaTMaNaSTadNauSa&SMar<aaNauPaUTYaaR ) jaNa& ivri¢-Mad>aUiàiXaTaeNa YaeNa icC^ed Sa&XaYaPad& iNaJaJaqvk-aeXaMa( )) 11 )) tasyānayā bhagavataḥ parikarma-śuddha- sattvātmanas tad-anusaṁsmaraṇānupūrtyā jñānaṁ viraktimad abhūn niśitena yena ciccheda saṁśaya-padaṁ nija-jīva-kośam SYNONYMS tasya—his; anayā—by this; bhagavataḥ—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; parikarma—activities in devotional service; śuddha—pure, transcendental; sattva—existence; ātmanaḥ—of the mind; tat—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; anusaṁsmaraṇa—constantly remembering; anupūrtyā—being perfectly done; jñānam—knowledge; virakti—nonattachment; mat—possessing; abhūt—became manifested; niśitena—by sharpened activities; yena—by which; ciccheda—become separated; saṁśaya-padam—position of doubtfulness; nija—own; jīva-kośam—encagement of the living entity. TRANSLATION By regularly discharging devotional service, Pṛthu Mahārāja became transcendental in mind and could therefore constantly think of the lotus feet of the Lord. Because of this, he became completely detached and attained perfect knowledge by which he could transcend all doubt. Thus he was freed from the clutches of false ego and the material conception of life. PURPORT In the Nārada-pañcarātra, devotional service to the Lord is likened unto a queen. When a queen gives an audience, many maidservants follow her. The maidservants of devotional service are material opulence, liberation and mystic powers. The karmīs are very much attached to material enjoyment, the jñānīs are very anxious to become freed from material clutches, and the yogīs are very fond of attaining the eight kinds of mystic perfection. From the Nārada-pañcarātra we understand that if one attains the stage of pure devotional service, he also attains all the opulences derived from fruitive activities, empiric philosophical speculation and mystic yogic practice. Śrīla Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura therefore prayed in his Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta: “My dear Lord, if I have unflinching devotion to You, You become manifest before me personally, and the results of fruitive activity and empiric philosophical speculation—namely religion, economic development, sense gratification and liberation—become like personal attendants and remain standing before me as if awaiting my order.” The idea here is that the jñānīs, by culture of brahma-vidyā, spiritual knowledge, struggle very hard to get out of the clutches of material nature, but a devotee, by dint of his advancement in devotional service, automatically becomes detached from his material body. When the devotee’s spiritual body begins to manifest, he actually enters into his activities in transcendental life. At present we have contacted a material body, material mind and material intelligence, but when we become free from these material conditions, our spiritual body, spiritual mind and spiritual intelligence become manifest. In that transcendental state, a devotee attains all the benefits of karma, jñāna and yoga. Although he never engages in fruitive activities or empiric speculation to attain mystic powers, automatically mystic powers appear in his service. A devotee does not want any kind of material opulence, but such opulence appears before him automatically. He does not have to endeavor for it. Because of his devotional service, he automatically becomes brahma-bhūta. As stated before, this is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (14.26): māṁ ca yo ’vyabhicāreṇa bhakti-yogena sevate sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate “One who is engaged in full devotional service, unfailing in all circumstances, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman.” Because of his regular discharge of devotional service, a devotee attains the transcendental stage of life. Since his mind is transcendentally situated, he cannot think of anything but the lotus feet of the Lord. This is the meaning of the word saṁsmaraṇa-anupūrtyā. By constantly thinking of the lotus feet of the Lord, the devotee immediately becomes situated in śuddha-sattva. Śuddha-sattva refers to that platform which is above the modes of material nature, including the mode of goodness. In the material world, the mode of goodness is considered to be representative of the highest perfection, but one has to transcend this mode and come to the stage of śuddha-sattva, or pure goodness, where the three qualities of material nature cannot act. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura gives the following example: If one has strong digestive power, after eating he automatically lights a fire within his stomach to digest everything and does not need to take medicine to aid his digestion. Similarly, the fire of devotional service is so strong that a devotee does not need to act separately to attain perfect knowledge or detachment from material attractions. A jñānī may become detached from material attractions by prolonged discussions on subjects of knowledge and may in this way finally come to the brahma-bhūta stage, but a devotee does not have to undergo so much trouble. By virtue of his devotional service, he attains the brahma-bhūta stage without a doubt. The yogīs and jñānīs are always doubtful about their constitutional position; therefore they mistakenly think of becoming one with the Supreme. However, a devotee’s relationship with the Supreme becomes manifest beyond all doubt, and he immediately understands that his position is that of eternal servant of the Lord. Jñānīs and yogīs without devotion may think themselves liberated, but actually their intelligence is not as pure as that of a devotee. In other words, the jñānīs and yogīs cannot become factually liberated unless they become elevated to the position of devotees. āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adho ’nādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ (Bhāg. 10.2.32) The jñānī and yogīs may rise to the highest position, Brahman realization, but because of their lack of devotion unto the lotus feet of the Lord, they again fall down into material nature. Therefore jñāna and yoga should not be accepted as the real processes for liberation. By discharging devotional service, Mahārāja Pṛthu automatically transcended all these positions. Since Mahārāja Pṛthu was a śaktyāveśa incarnation of the Supreme Lord, he did not have to act in any way to attain liberation. He came from the Vaikuṇṭha world, or spiritual sky, in order to execute the will of the Supreme Lord on earth. Consequently he was to return home, back to Godhead, without having to execute jñāna, yoga or karma. Although Pṛthu Mahārāja was eternally a pure devotee of the Lord, he nonetheless adopted the process of devotional service in order to teach the people in general the proper process for executing the duties of life and ultimately returning home, back to Godhead. |
TEXT 12 i^àaNYaDaqriDaGaTaaTMaGaiTaiNaRrqh‚ STataTYaJae_iC^Naidd& vYauNaeNa YaeNa ) Taavà YaaeGaGaiTai>aYaRiTarPa[Mataae YaavÓdaGa]Jak-QaaSau riTa& Na ku-YaaRTa( )) 12 )) chinnānya-dhīr adhigatātma-gatir nirīhas tat tatyaje ’cchinad idaṁ vayunena yena tāvan na yoga-gatibhir yatir apramatto yāvad gadāgraja-kathāsu ratiṁ na kuryāt SYNONYMS chinna—being separated; anya-dhīḥ—all other concepts of life (the bodily concept of life); adhigata—being firmly convinced; ātma-gatiḥ—the ultimate goal of spiritual life; nirīhaḥ—desireless; tat—that; tatyaje—gave up; acchinat—he had cut; idam—this; vayunena—with the knowledge; yena—by which; tāvat—so long; na—never; yoga-gatibhiḥ—the practice of the mystic yoga system; yatiḥ—the practicer; apramattaḥ—without any illusion; yāvat—so long; gadāgraja—of Kṛṣṇa; kathāsu—words; ratim—attraction; na—never; kuryāt—do it. TRANSLATION When he became completely free from the conception of bodily life, Mahārāja Pṛthu realized Lord Kṛṣṇa sitting in everyone’s heart as the Paramātmā. Being thus able to get all instructions from Him, he gave up all other practices of yoga and jñāna. He was not even interested in the perfection of the yoga and jñāna systems, for he thoroughly realized that devotional service to Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate goal of life and that unless the yogīs and jñānīs become attracted to kṛṣṇa-kathā [narrations about Kṛṣṇa], their illusions concerning existence can never be dispelled. PURPORT As long as one is too much absorbed in the bodily conception of life, he becomes interested in many different processes of self-realization, such as the mystic yoga system or the system utilizing the speculative empiric methods. However, when one understands that the ultimate goal of life is to approach Kṛṣṇa, he realizes Kṛṣṇa within everyone’s heart and therefore helps everyone who is interested in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Actually the perfection of life depends on one’s inclination to hear about Kṛṣṇa. It is therefore mentioned in this verse: yāvad gadāgraja-kathāsu ratiṁ na kuryāt. Unless one becomes interested in Kṛṣṇa, in His pastimes and activities, there is no question of liberation by means of yoga practice or speculative knowledge. Having attained to the stage of devotion, Mahārāja Pṛthu became uninterested in the practices of jñāna and yoga and abandoned them. This is the stage of pure devotional life as described by Rūpa Gosvāmī: Real jñāna means understanding that the living entity is the eternal servant of the Lord. This knowledge is attained after many, many births, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (7.19): bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate. In the paramahaṁsa stage of life, one fully realizes Kṛṣṇa as everything: vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ. When one understands fully that Kṛṣṇa is everything and that Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the highest perfection of life, he becomes a paramahaṁsa, or mahātmā. Such a mahātmā or paramahaṁsa is very rare to find. A paramahaṁsa, or pure devotee, is never attracted by haṭha-yoga or speculative knowledge. He is simply interested in the unalloyed devotional service of the Lord. Sometimes one who was formerly addicted to these processes tries to perform devotional service and the jñāna and yoga practices at the same time, but as soon as one comes to the unalloyed stage of devotional service, he is able to give up all other methods of self-realization. In other words, when one firmly realizes Kṛṣṇa as the supreme goal, he is no longer attracted by mystic yoga practice or the speculative empirical methods of knowledge. |
Wv& Sa vqrPa[vr" Sa&YaaeJYaaTMaaNaMaaTMaiNa ) b]ø>aUTaae d*!& k-ale/ TaTYaaJa Sv& k-le/vrMa( )) 13 )) evaṁ sa vīra-pravaraḥ saṁyojyātmānam ātmani brahma-bhūto dṛḍhaṁ kāle tatyāja svaṁ kalevaram SYNONYMS evam—thus; saḥ—he; vīra-pravaraḥ—the chief of the heroes; saṁyojya—applying; ātmānam—mind; ātmani—unto the Supersoul; brahma-bhūtaḥ—being liberated; dṛḍham—firmly; kāle—in due course of time; tatyāja—gave up; svam—own; kalevaram—body. TRANSLATION In due course of time, when Pṛthu Mahārāja was to give up his body, he fixed his mind firmly upon the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, and thus, completely situated on the brahma-bhūta platform, he gave up the material body. PURPORT According to a Bengali proverb, whatever spiritual progress one makes in life will be tested at the time of death. In Bhagavad-gītā (8.6) it is also confirmed: yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁ tyajaty ante kalevaram/ taṁ tam evaiti kaunteya sadā tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ. Those who are practicing Kṛṣṇa consciousness know that their examination will be held at the time of death. If one can remember Kṛṣṇa at death, he is immediately transferred to Goloka Vṛndāvana, or Kṛṣṇaloka, and thus his life becomes successful. Pṛthu Mahārāja, by the grace of Kṛṣṇa, could understand that the end of his life was near, and thus he became very jubilant and proceeded to completely give up his body on the brahma-bhūta stage by practicing the yogic process. It is thoroughly described in the following verses how one can voluntarily give up this body and return home, back to Godhead. The yogic process practiced by Pṛthu Mahārāja at the time of death accelerates the giving up of this body while one is in sound health physically and mentally. Every devotee desires to give up the body while it is sound physically and mentally. This desire was also expressed by King Kulaśekhara in his Mukunda-mālā-stotra: kṛṣṇa tvadīya-padapaṅkaja-pañjarāntam adyaiva me viśatu mānasa-rāja-haṁsaḥ prāṇa-prayāṇa-samaye kapha-vāta-pittaiḥ kaṇṭhāvarodhana-vidhau smaraṇaṁ kutas te King Kulaśekhara wanted to give up his body while in a healthy state, and he thus prayed to Kṛṣṇa to let him die immediately while he was in good health and while his mind was sound. When a man dies, he is generally overpowered by mucus and bile, and thus he chokes. Since it is very difficult to vibrate any sound while choking, it is simply by Kṛṣṇa’s grace that one can chant Hare Kṛṣṇa at the time of death. However, by situating oneself in the muktāsana position, a yogī can immediately give up his body and go to whatever planet he desires. A perfect yogī can give up his body whenever he desires through the practice of yoga. |
TEXT 14 SaMPaq@y PaaYau& PaaiZ<aR>Yaa& vaYauMauTSaarYaH^NaE" ) Naa>Yaa& k-aeïeZvvSQaaPYa ôdur"k-<#=XaqzRi<a )) 14 )) sampīḍya pāyuṁ pārṣṇibhyāṁ vāyum utsārayañ chanaiḥ nābhyāṁ koṣṭheṣv avasthāpya hṛd-uraḥ-kaṇṭha-śīrṣaṇi SYNONYMS sampīḍya—by blocking; pāyum—the door of the anus; pārṣṇibhyām—by the calves; vāyum—the air which goes up; utsārayan—pushing upward; śanaiḥ—gradually; nābhyām—by the navel; koṣṭheṣu—in the heart and in the throat; avasthāpya—fixing; hṛt—in the heart; uraḥ—upward; kaṇṭha—throat; śīrṣaṇi—between the two eyebrows. TRANSLATION When Mahārāja Pṛthu practiced a particular yogic sitting posture, he blocked the doors of his anus with his ankles, pressed his right and left calves and gradually raised his life air upward, passing it on to the circle of his navel, up to his heart and throat, and finally pushed it upward to the central position between his two eyebrows. PURPORT The sitting posture described herein is called muktāsana. In the yoga process, after following the strict regulative principles controlling sleeping, eating and mating, one is allowed to practice the different sitting postures. The ultimate aim of yoga is to enable one to give up this body according to his own free will. One who has attained the ultimate summit of yoga practice can live in the body as long as he likes or, as long as he is not completely perfect, leave the body to go anywhere within or outside the universe. Some yogīs leave their bodies to go to the higher planetary systems and enjoy the material facilities therein. However, intelligent yogīs do not wish to waste their time within this material world at all; they do not care for the material facilities in higher planetary systems, but are interested in going directly to the spiritual sky, back home, back to Godhead. From the description in this verse, it appears that Mahārāja Pṛthu had no desire to promote himself to the higher planetary systems. He wanted to return home immediately, back to Godhead. Although Mahārāja Pṛthu stopped all practice of mystic yoga after realizing Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he took advantage of his previous practice and immediately placed himself on the brahma-bhūta platform in order to accelerate his return to Godhead. The aim of this particular system of āsana, known as the sitting posture for liberation, or muktāsana, is to attain success in kuṇḍalinī-cakra and gradually raise the life from the mūlādhāra-cakra to the svādhiṣṭhāna-cakra, then to the maṇipūra-cakra, the anāhata-cakra, the viśuddha-cakra, and finally to the ājñā-cakra. When the yogī reaches the ājñā-cakra, between the two eyebrows, he is able to penetrate the brahma-randhra, or the hole in his skull, and go to any planet he desires, up to the spiritual kingdom of Vaikuṇṭha, or Kṛṣṇaloka. The conclusion is that one has to come to the brahma-bhūta stage for going back to Godhead. However, those who are in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or who are practicing bhakti-yoga (śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam [SB 7.5.23]), can return to Godhead without even practicing the muktāsana process. The purpose of muktāsana practice is to come to the brahma-bhūta stage, for without being on the brahma-bhūta stage, one cannot be promoted to the spiritual sky. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (14.26): māṁ ca yo ’vyabhicāreṇa bhakti-yogena sevate sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate The bhakti-yogī, practicing bhakti-yoga, is always situated on the brahma-bhūta stage (brahma-bhūyāya kalpate). If a devotee is able to continue on the brahma-bhūta platform, he enters the spiritual sky automatically after death and returns to Godhead. Consequently a devotee need not feel sorry for not having practiced the kuṇḍalinī-cakra, or not penetrating the six cakras one after another. As far as Mahārāja Pṛthu was concerned, he had already practiced this process, and since he did not want to wait for the time when his death would occur naturally, he took advantage of the ṣaṭ-cakra penetration process and thus gave up the body according to his own free will and immediately entered the spiritual sky. |
TEXT 17 wiNd]Yaezu MaNaSTaaiNa TaNMaa}aezu YaQaaeÙvMa( ) >aUTaaidNaaMaUNYauTk*-ZYa MahTYaaTMaiNa SaNdDae )) 17 )) indriyeṣu manas tāni tan-mātreṣu yathodbhavam bhūtādināmūny utkṛṣya mahaty ātmani sandadhe SYNONYMS indriyeṣu—in the sense organs; manaḥ—the mind; tāni—the sense organs; tat-mātreṣu—in the objects of the senses; yathā-udbhavam—wherefrom they generated; bhūta-ādinā—by the five elements; amūni—all those sense objects; utkṛṣya—taking out; mahati—in the mahat-tattva; ātmani—unto the ego; sandadhe—amalgamated. TRANSLATION He amalgamated the mind with the senses and the senses with the sense objects, according to their respective positions, and he also amalgamated the material ego with the total material energy, mahat-tattva. PURPORT In respect to the ego, the total material energy is sundered in two parts—one agitated by the mode of ignorance and the other agitated by the modes of passion and goodness. Due to agitation by the mode of ignorance, the five gross elements are created. Due to agitation by the mode of passion, the mind is created, and due to agitation by the mode of goodness, false egoism, or identification with matter, is created. The mind is protected by a particular type of demigod. Sometimes the mind (manaḥ) is also understood to have a controlling deity or demigod. In this way the total mind, namely the material mind controlled by material demigods, was amalgamated with the senses. The senses, in turn, were amalgamated with the sense objects. The sense objects are forms, tastes, smells, sounds, etc. Sound is the ultimate source of the sense objects. The mind was attracted by the senses and the senses by the sense objects, and all of them were ultimately amalgamated in the sky. The creation is so arranged that cause and effect follow one after the other. The merging process involves amalgamating the effect with the original cause. Since the ultimate cause in the material world is mahat-tattva, everything was gradually wound up and amalgamated with the mahat-tattva. This may be compared to śūnya-vāda, or voidism, but this is the process for cleansing the real spiritual mind, or consciousness. When the mind is completely washed of all material contamination, the pure consciousness acts. The sound vibration from the spiritual sky can automatically cleanse all material contaminations, as confirmed by Caitanya Mahāprabhu: ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam [Cc. Antya 20.12]. We need only take the advice of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu and chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra to cleanse the mind of all material contamination, and this may be considered the summary of this difficult verse. As soon as the whole material contamination is washed away by this process of chanting, all desires and reactions to material activities become immediately vanquished, and real life, peaceful existence, begins. In this age of Kali it is very difficult to adopt the yogic process mentioned in this verse. Unless one is very expert in such yoga, the best course is to adopt the ways and means of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam. Thus one can gloriously become freed from all material contamination by the simple process of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. Just as life in this material world has its beginning in material sound, similarly a spiritual life has its beginning in this spiritual sound vibration. |
Ta& SavRGau<aivNYaaSa& Jaqve MaaYaaMaYae NYaDaaTa( ) Ta& caNauXaYaMaaTMaSQaMaSaavNauXaYaq PauMaaNa( ) jaNavEraGYavqYaeR<a SvæPaSQaae_JahaTPa[>au" )) 18 )) taṁ sarva-guṇa-vinyāsaṁ jīve māyāmaye nyadhāt taṁ cānuśayam ātma-stham asāv anuśayī pumān jñāna-vairāgya-vīryeṇa svarūpa-stho ’jahāt prabhuḥ SYNONYMS tam—unto Him; sarva-guṇa-vinyāsam—the reservoir of all qualities; jīve—unto the designations; māyā-maye—the reservoir of all potencies; nyadhāt—placed; tam—that; ca—also; anuśayam—designation; ātma-stham—situated in self-realization; asau—he; anuśayī—the living entity; pumān—the enjoyer; jñāna—knowledge; vairāgya—renunciation; vīryeṇa—by the prowess of; svarūpa-sthaḥ—being situated in one’s constitutional position; ajahāt—returned home; prabhuḥ—the controller. TRANSLATION Pṛthu Mahārāja then offered the total designation of the living entity unto the supreme controller of illusory energy. Being released from all the designations by which the living entity became entrapped, he became free by knowledge and renunciation and by the spiritual force of his devotional service. In this way, being situated in his original constitutional position of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he gave up this body as a prabhu, or controller of the senses. PURPORT As stated in the Vedas, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the source of material energy. Consequently He is sometimes called māyā-maya, or the Supreme person, who can create His pastimes through His potency known as the material energy. The jīva, or the individual living entity, becomes entrapped by the material energy by the supreme will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In Bhagavad-gītā (18.61) we understand: īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe ’rjuna tiṣṭhati bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni yantrārūḍhāni māyayā Īśvara, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is situated within the heart of all conditioned souls, and by His supreme will the living entity, or individual soul, gets the facility to lord it over material nature in various types of bodies, which are known as yantra, or the moving vehicle offered by the total material energy, māyā. Although the individual living entity (jīva) and the Lord are both situated within the material energy, the Lord is directing the movements of the jīva soul by offering him different types of bodies through the material energy, and thus the living entity is wandering throughout the universes in various forms of body and becomes implicated in different situations, partaking of the reactions of fruitive activities. When Pṛthu Mahārāja became spiritually powerful by the enhancement of his spiritual knowledge (jñāna) and renunciation of material desires, he became a prabhu, or master of his senses (sometimes called gosvāmī or svāmī). This means that he was no longer controlled by the influence of material energy. When one is strong enough to give up the influence of material energy, he is called prabhu. In this verse the word svarūpa-sthaḥ is also very significant. The real identity of the individual soul lies in understanding or attaining the knowledge that he is eternally a servant of Kṛṣṇa. This understanding is called svarūpopalabdhi. By culturing devotional service, the devotee gradually comes to understand his actual relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This understanding of one’s pure spiritual position is called svarūpopalabdhi, and when one attains that stage he can understand how he is related with the Supreme Personality of Godhead as a servant or friend or as a parent or conjugal lover. This stage of understanding is called svarūpa-sthaḥ. Pṛthu Mahārāja realized this svarūpa completely, and it will be clear in the later verses that he personally left this world, or this body, by riding on a chariot sent from Vaikuṇṭha. In this verse the word prabhu is also significant. As stated before, when one is completely self-realized and acts according to that position, he can be called prabhu. The spiritual master is addressed as “Prabhupāda” because he is a completely self-realized soul. The word pāda means “position,” and Prabhupāda indicates that he is given the position of prabhu, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for he acts on behalf of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Unless one is a prabhu, or controller of the senses, he cannot act as spiritual master, who is authorized by the supreme prabhu, or Lord Kṛṣṇa. In his verses praising the spiritual master, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura writes: sākṣād-dharitvena samasta-śāstrair uktas tathā bhāvyata eva sadbhiḥ “The spiritual master is honored as much as the Supreme Lord because he is the most confidential servitor of the Lord.” Thus Pṛthu Mahārāja can also be called Prabhupāda, or, as described herein, prabhu. Another question may be raised in this connection. Since Pṛthu Mahārāja was a power incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, śaktyāveśa-avatāra, why did he have to execute the regulative principles in order to become a prabhu? Because he appeared on this earth as an ideal king and because it is the duty of the king to instruct the citizens in the execution of devotional service, he followed all the regulative principles of devotional service in order to teach others. Similarly, Caitanya Mahāprabhu, although Kṛṣṇa Himself, taught us how to approach Kṛṣṇa as a devotee. It is said, āpani ācari’ bhakti śikhāinu sabāre. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu instructed others in the process of devotional service by setting the example Himself through His own personal actions. Similarly, Pṛthu Mahārāja, although a śaktyāveśa-avatāra incarnation, still behaved exactly as a devotee in order to achieve the position of prabhu. Furthermore, svarūpa-sthaḥ means “complete liberation.” As it is said (Bhāg. 2.10.6), hitvānyathā-rūpaṁ svarūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ: when a living entity abandons the activities of māyā and attains the position from which he can execute devotional service, his state is called svarūpa-sthaḥ, or complete liberation. |
deh& ivPaàai%l/ceTaNaaidk&- PaTYau" Pa*iQaVYaa diYaTaSYa caTMaNa" ) Aal/+Ya ik-iÄÀ ivl/PYa Saa SaTaq icTaaMaQaaraePaYadid]SaaNauiNa )) 21 )) dehaṁ vipannākhila-cetanādikaṁ patyuḥ pṛthivyā dayitasya cātmanaḥ ālakṣya kiñcic ca vilapya sā satī citām athāropayad adri-sānuni SYNONYMS deham—body; vipanna—completely failing; akhila—all; cetana—feeling; ādikam—symptoms; patyuḥ—of her husband; pṛthivyāḥ—the world; dayitasya—of the merciful; ca ātmanaḥ—also of herself; ālakṣya—by seeing; kiñcit—very little; ca—and; vilapya—lamenting; sā—she; satī—the chaste; citām—unto the fire; atha—now; āropayat—placed; adri—hill; sānuni—on the top. TRANSLATION When Queen Arci saw that her husband, who had been so merciful to her and the earth, no longer showed symptoms of life, she lamented for a little while and then built a fiery pyre on top of a hill and placed the body of her husband on it. PURPORT After seeing all the life symptoms in her husband stop, the Queen lamented for a while. The word kiñcit means “for a little while.” The Queen was completely aware that her husband was not dead, although the symptoms of life—action, intelligence and sense perception—had ceased. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (2.13): dehino ’smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati “As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change.” When a living entity transfers from one body to another, a process generally known as death, a sane man does not lament, for he knows that the living entity is not dead but is simply transferred from one body to another. The Queen should have been afraid of being alone in the forest with the body of her husband, but since she was a great wife of a great personality, she lamented for a while but immediately understood that she had many duties to perform. Thus instead of wasting her time in lamentation, she immediately prepared a fiery pyre on top of a hill and then placed the body of her husband on it to be burned. Mahārāja Pṛthu is described here as dayita, for not only was he the king of the earth, but he treated the earth as his protected child. Similarly, he protected his wife also. It was the duty of the king to give protection to everyone, especially to the earth or land which he ruled, as well as the citizens and his family members. Since Pṛthu Mahārāja was a perfect king, he gave protection to everyone, and therefore he is described here as dayita. |
TEXT 27 Taeza& duraPa& ik&- TvNYaNMaTYaaRNaa& >aGavTPadMa( ) >auiv l/ael/aYauzae Yae vE NaEZk-MYa| SaaDaYaNTYauTa )) 27 )) teṣāṁ durāpaṁ kiṁ tv anyan martyānāṁ bhagavat-padam bhuvi lolāyuṣo ye vai naiṣkarmyaṁ sādhayanty uta SYNONYMS teṣām—of them; durāpam—difficult to obtain; kim—what; tu—but; anyat—anything else; martyānām—of the human beings; bhagavat-padam—the kingdom of God; bhuvi—in the world; lola—flickering; āyuṣaḥ—span of life; ye—those; vai—certainly; naiṣkarmyam—the path of liberation; sādhayanti—execute; uta—exactly. TRANSLATION In this material world, every human being has a short span of life, but those who are engaged in devotional service go back home, back to Godhead, for they are actually on the path of liberation. For such persons, there is nothing which is not available. PURPORT In Bhagavad-gītā (9.33) Lord Kṛṣṇa says: anityam asukhaṁ lokam imaṁ prāpya bhajasva mām. The Lord here declares that this material world is full of miseries (asukham) and at the same time is very flickering (anityam). Therefore one’s only duty is to engage himself in devotional service. This is the best end to which human life can be put. Those devotees who are constantly engaged in the service of the lotus feet of the Lord achieve not only all material benefits but also all spiritual benefits, for at the end of life they go back home, back to Godhead. Their destination is described in this verse as bhagavat-padam. The word padam means “abode,” and bhagavat means “the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” Thus the destination of the devotees is the abode of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this verse the word naiṣkarmyam, which means “transcendental knowledge,” is also significant. Unless one comes to the platform of transcendental knowledge and offers devotional service to the Lord, one is not perfect. Generally the processes of jñāna, yoga and karma are executed life after life before one gets a chance to render pure devotional service to the Lord. This chance is given by the grace of a pure devotee, and it is in this way only that one can actually attain liberation. In the context of this narration, the wives of the demigods repented because although they had the opportunity of a birth in a higher planetary system, a lifetime spanning millions of years and all material comforts, they were not as fortunate as Pṛthu Mahārāja and his wife, who were actually surpassing them. In other words, Pṛthu Mahārāja and his wife scorned promotion to the higher planetary systems and even to Brahmaloka because the position which they were attaining was incomparable. In Bhagavad-gītā (8.16) the Lord affirms, ābrahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino ’rjuna: “From the highest planet in the material world to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place.” In other words, even if one goes to the highest planet, Brahmaloka, he has to return to the miseries of birth and death. In the Ninth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā (9.21), Lord Kṛṣṇa also asserts: te taṁ bhuktvā svarga-lokaṁ viśālaṁ kṣīṇe puṇye martya-lokaṁ viśanti “When they have thus enjoyed heavenly sense pleasure, they return to this mortal planet again.” Thus after exhausting the results of pious activities, one has to come again to the lower planetary systems and begin a new chapter of pious activities. It is therefore said in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.5.12), naiṣkarmyam apy acyuta-bhāva-varjitam: “The path of liberation is not at all secure unless one attains the devotional service of the Lord.” Even if one is promoted to the impersonal brahmajyoti, he runs every chance of falling down into this material world. If it is possible to fall down from the brahmajyoti, which is beyond the higher planetary systems in this material world, then what can be said of the ordinary yogīs and karmīs who can only be elevated to the higher material planets? Thus the wives of the denizens of the higher planetary systems did not very much appreciate the results of karma, jñāna and yoga. |
TEXT 28 Sa viÄTaae bTaaTMaDa]uk(- k*-C^\e<a MahTaa >auiv ) l/BßaPavGYa| MaaNauZYa& ivzYaezu ivzÂTae )) 28 )) sa vañcito batātma-dhruk kṛcchreṇa mahatā bhuvi labdhvāpavargyaṁ mānuṣyaṁ viṣayeṣu viṣajjate SYNONYMS saḥ—he; vañcitaḥ—cheated; bata—certainly; ātma-dhruk—envious of himself; kṛcchreṇa—with great difficulty; mahatā—by great activities; bhuvi—in this world; labdhvā—by achieving; āpavargyam—the path of liberation; mānuṣyam—in the human form of life; viṣayeṣu—in the matter of sense gratification; viṣajjate—becomes engaged. TRANSLATION Any person who engages himself within this material world in performing activities that necessitate great struggle, and who, after obtaining a human form of life—which is a chance to attain liberation from miseries—undertakes the difficult tasks of fruitive activities, must be considered to be cheated and envious of his own self. PURPORT In this material world people are engaged in different activities simply to achieve a little success in sense gratification. The karmīs are engaged in performing very difficult activities, and thus they open gigantic factories, build huge cities, make big scientific discoveries, etc. In other words, they are engaged in performing very costly sacrifices in order to be promoted to the higher planetary systems. Similarly, yogīs are engaged in achieving a similar goal by accepting the tedious practices of mystic yoga. Jñānīs are engaged in philosophical speculation in order to gain release from the clutches of material nature. In these ways everyone is engaged in performing very difficult tasks simply for the gratification of the senses. All of these are considered to be engaged in sense gratificatory activities (or viṣaya) because they all demand some facility for material existence. Actually the results of such activities are temporary. As Kṛṣṇa Himself proclaims in Bhagavad-gītā (7.23), antavat tu phalaṁ teṣām: “The fruits [of those who worship the demigods] are limited and temporary.” Thus the fruits of the activities of the yogīs, karmīs and jñānīs are ephemeral. Moreover, Kṛṣṇa says, tad bhavaty alpa-medhasām: “They are simply meant for men of small intelligence.” The word viṣaya denotes sense gratification. The karmīs flatly state that they want sense gratification. The yogīs also want sense gratification, but they want it to a higher degree. It is their desire to show some miraculous results through the practice of yoga. Thus they strive very hard to achieve success in becoming smaller than the smallest or greater than the greatest, or in creating a planet like earth or, as scientists, by inventing so many wonderful machines. Similarly, the jñānīs are also engaged in sense gratification, for they are simply interested in becoming one with the Supreme. Thus the aim of all these activities is sense gratification to a higher or a lower degree. The bhaktas, however, are not interested in sense gratificatory practices; they are simply satisfied to get an opportunity to serve the Lord. Although they are satisfied in any condition, there is nothing they cannot obtain, because they are purely engaged in the service of the Lord. The wives of the demigods condemn the performers of sense gratificatory activities as vañcita, cheated. Those so engaged are actually killing themselves (ātma-hā). As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.20.17): nṛ-deham ādyaṁ sulabhaṁ sudurlabhaṁ plavaṁ sukalpaṁ guru-karṇadhāram mayānukūlena nabhasvateritaṁ pumān bhavābdhiṁ na taret sa ātma-hā When one wants to cross a large ocean, he requires a strong boat. It is said that this human form of life is a good boat by which one can cross the ocean of nescience. In the human form of life one can obtain the guidance of a good navigator, the spiritual master. One also gets a favorable wind by the mercy of Kṛṣṇa, and that wind is the instructions of Kṛṣṇa. The human body is the boat, the instructions of Lord Kṛṣṇa are the favorable winds, and the spiritual master is the navigator. The spiritual master knows well how to adjust the sails to catch the winds favorably and steer the boat to its destination. If, however, one does not take advantage of this opportunity, one wastes the human form of life. Wasting time and life in this way is the same as committing suicide. The word labdhvāpavargyam is significant in this verse, because according to Jīva Gosvāmī, āpavargyam, or the path of liberation, does not refer to merging into the impersonal Brahman but to sālokyādi-siddhi, which means attaining the very planet where the Supreme Personality of Godhead resides. There are five kinds of liberation, and one is called sāyujya-mukti, or merging into the existence of the Supreme, or the impersonal Brahman effulgence. However, since there is a chance of one’s falling down again into the material sky from the Brahman effulgence, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī advises that in this human form of life one’s only aim should be to go back home, back to Godhead. The words sa vañcitaḥ indicate that once a person has obtained the human form of life, he is actually cheated if he does not make preparations to go back home, back to Godhead. The position of all nondevotees, who are not interested in going back to Godhead, is very much lamentable, for the human form of life is meant for executing devotional service and nothing else. |
TEXT 31 Ya wd& SauMahTPau<Ya& é[ÖYaavihTa" Pa#e=Ta( ) é[avYaeC^*<auYaaÜaiPa Sa Pa*Qaae" PadvqiMaYaaTa( )) 31 )) ya idaṁ sumahat puṇyaṁ śraddhayāvahitaḥ paṭhet śrāvayec chṛṇuyād vāpi sa pṛthoḥ padavīm iyāt SYNONYMS yaḥ—anyone; idam—this; su-mahat—very great; puṇyam—pious; śraddhayā—with great faith; avahitaḥ—with great attention; paṭhet—reads; śrāvayet—explains; śṛṇuyāt—hears; vā—or; api—certainly; saḥ—that person; pṛthoḥ—of King Pṛthu; padavīm—situation; iyāt—attains. TRANSLATION Any person who describes the great characteristics of King Pṛthu with faith and determination—whether he reads or hears of them himself or helps others to hear of them—is certain to attain the very planet which Mahārāja Pṛthu attained. In other words, such a person also returns home to the Vaikuṇṭha planets, back to Godhead. PURPORT In the execution of devotional service, śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ [SB 7.5.23] is especially stressed. This means that bhakti, or devotional service, begins by hearing and chanting about Viṣṇu. When we speak of Viṣṇu, we also refer to that which relates to Viṣṇu. In the Śiva Purāṇa, Lord Śiva recommends Viṣṇu worship to be the topmost worship, and better than Viṣṇu worship is worship of the Vaiṣṇava or anything that is related to Viṣṇu. The fact is explained herein that hearing and chanting about a Vaiṣṇava is as good as hearing and chanting about Viṣṇu, for Maitreya has explained that anyone who hears about Pṛthu Mahārāja with attention also attains the planet which Mahārāja Pṛthu attained. There is no duality between Viṣṇu and the Vaiṣṇava, and this is called advaya-jñāna. A Vaiṣṇava is as important as Viṣṇu, and therefore Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura wrote in his Gurv-aṣṭaka: sākṣād-dharitvena samasta-śāstrair uktas tathā bhāvyata eva sadbhiḥ kintu prabhor yaḥ priya eva tasya vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam “The spiritual master is honored as much as the Supreme Lord because he is the most confidential servitor of the Lord. This is acknowledged in all revealed scriptures and is followed by all authorities. Therefore I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my spiritual master, who is a bona fide representative of Śrī Hari.” The supreme Vaiṣṇava is the spiritual master, and he is nondifferent from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is said that sometimes Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu used to chant the names of the gopīs. Some of the Lord’s students tried to advise Him to chant the name of Kṛṣṇa instead, but upon hearing this Caitanya Mahāprabhu became very angry with His students. The controversy on this subject reached a point that after this incident Caitanya Mahāprabhu decided to take sannyāsa because He was not taken very seriously in His gṛhastha-āśrama. The point is that since Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu chanted the names of the gopīs, worship of the gopīs or the devotees of the Lord is as good as devotional service rendered directly to the Lord. It is also stated by the Lord Himself that devotional service to His devotees is better than service offered directly to Him. Sometimes the sahajiyā class of devotees are interested only in Kṛṣṇa’s personal pastimes to the exclusion of the activities of the devotees. This type of devotee is not on a very high level; one who sees the devotee and the Lord on the same level has further progressed. |
TEXT 35 DaNYa& YaXaSYaMaaYauZYa& SvGYa| k-il/Mal/aPahMa( ) DaMaaRQaRk-aMaMaae+aa<aa& SaMYaiKSaiÖMa>aqPSaui>a" ) é[ÖYaETadNaué[aVYa& cTau<aa| k-ar<a& ParMa( )) 35 )) dhanyaṁ yaśasyam āyuṣyaṁ svargyaṁ kali-malāpaham dharmārtha-kāma-mokṣāṇāṁ samyak siddhim abhīpsubhiḥ śraddhayaitad anuśrāvyaṁ caturṇāṁ kāraṇaṁ param SYNONYMS dhanyam—the source of riches; yaśasyam—the source of reputation; āyuṣyam—the source of an increased span of life; svargyam—the source of elevation to the heavenly planets; kali—of the age of Kali; mala-apaham—decreasing the contamination; dharma—religion; artha—economic development; kāma—sense gratification; mokṣāṇām—of liberation; samyak—completely; siddhim—perfection; abhīpsubhiḥ—by those desiring; śraddhayā—with great respect; etat—this narration; anuśrāvyam—must one hear; caturṇām—of the four; kāraṇam—cause; param—ultimate. TRANSLATION By hearing the narration of Pṛthu Mahārāja, one can become great, increase his duration of life, gain promotion to the heavenly planets and counteract the contaminations of this age of Kali. In addition, one can promote the causes of religion, economic development, sense gratification and liberation. Therefore from all sides it is advisable for a materialistic person who is interested in such things to read and hear the narrations of the life and character of Pṛthu Mahārāja. PURPORT By reading and hearing the narrations of the life and character of Pṛthu Mahārāja, one naturally becomes a devotee, and as soon as one becomes a devotee, his material desires automatically become fulfilled. Therefore it is recommended in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.3.10): akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā mokṣa-kāma udāra-dhīḥ tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena yajeta puruṣaṁ param If a person wants to return home, back to Godhead, or wants to become a pure devotee (akāma), or wants some material prosperity (sakāma or sarva-kāma), or wants to merge into the existence of the Supreme Brahman effulgence (mokṣa-kāma), he is recommended to take to the path of devotional service and hear and chant of Lord Viṣṇu or of His devotee. This is the sum and substance of all Vedic literatures. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ (Bg. 15.15). The purpose of Vedic knowledge is to understand Kṛṣṇa and His devotees. Whenever we speak of Kṛṣṇa, we refer to His devotees also, for He is not alone. He is never nirviśeṣa or śūnya, without variety, or zero. Kṛṣṇa is full of variety, and as soon as Kṛṣṇa is present, there cannot be any question of void. |
TEXT 38 vEic}avqYaaRi>aihTa& MahNMaahaTMYaSaUck-Ma( ) AiSMaNa( k*-TaMaiTaMaTYaRMa( PaaQaRvq& GaiTaMaaPNauYaaTa( )) 38 )) vaicitravīryābhihitaṁ mahan-māhātmya-sūcakam asmin kṛtam atimartyaṁ pārthavīṁ gatim āpnuyāt SYNONYMS vaicitravīrya—O son of Vicitravīrya (Vidura); abhihitam—explained; mahat—great; māhātmya—greatness; sūcakam—awakening; asmin—in this; kṛtam—performed; ati-martyam—uncommon; pārthavīm—in connection with Pṛthu Mahārāja; gatim—advancement, destination; āpnuyāt—one should achieve. TRANSLATION The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, I have as far as possible spoken the narrations about Pṛthu Mahārāja, which enrich one’s devotional attitude. Whoever takes advantage of these benefits also goes back home, back to Godhead, like Mahārāja Pṛthu. PURPORT The word śrāvayet, mentioned in a previous verse, indicates that one should not only read for himself, but should also induce others to read and hear. That is called preaching. Caitanya Mahāprabhu recommended this practice: yāre dekha, tāre kaha ‘kṛṣṇa’-upadeśa (Cc. Madhya 7.128). “Whomever you meet, simply talk with him about the instructions given by Kṛṣṇa or tell him of narrations about Kṛṣṇa.” Pṛthu Mahārāja’s history of devotional service is as potent as narrations about the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One should not make distinctions between the pastimes of the Lord and the activities of Pṛthu Mahārāja, and whenever it is possible a devotee should attempt to induce others to hear about Pṛthu Mahārāja. One should not only read of his pastimes for one’s own benefit but should induce others to read and hear about them also. In this way everyone can be benefited. |
TEXT 39 ANauidNaiMadMaadre<a é*<vNa( Pa*QaucirTa& Pa[QaYaNa( ivMau¢-Sa(r)" ) >aGaviTa >aviSaNDauPaaeTaPaade Sa c iNaPau<aa& l/>aTae riTa& MaNauZYa" )) 39 )) anudinam idam ādareṇa śṛṇvan pṛthu-caritaṁ prathayan vimukta-saṅgaḥ bhagavati bhava-sindhu-pota-pāde sa ca nipuṇāṁ labhate ratiṁ manuṣyaḥ SYNONYMS anu-dinam—day after day; idam—this; ādareṇa—with great respect; śṛṇvan—hearing; pṛthu-caritam—the narration of Pṛthu Mahārāja; prathayan—chanting; vimukta—liberated; saṅgaḥ—association; bhagavati—unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; bhava-sindhu—the ocean of nescience; pota—the boat; pāde—whose lotus feet; saḥ—he; ca—also; nipuṇām—complete; labhate—achieves; ratim—attachment; manuṣyaḥ—the person. TRANSLATION Whoever, with great reverence and adoration, regularly reads, chants and describes the history of Mahārāja Pṛthu’s activities will certainly increase unflinching faith and attraction for the lotus feet of the Lord. The Lord’s lotus feet are the boat by which one can cross the ocean of nescience. PURPORT The word bhava-sindhu-pota-pāde is significant in this verse. The lotus feet of the Lord are known as mahat-padam; this means that the total source of material existence rests on the lotus feet of the Lord. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (10.8), ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ: everything is emanating from Him. This cosmic manifestation, which is compared to an ocean of nescience, is also resting on the lotus feet of the Lord. As such, this great ocean of nescience is minimized by a person who is a pure devotee. One who has taken shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord need not cross over the ocean, for he has already crossed it by virtue of his position at the Lord’s lotus feet. By hearing and chanting of the glories of the Lord or the Lord’s devotee, one can become firmly fixed in the service of the lotus feet of the Lord. This position can also be achieved very easily by narrating the history of the life of Pṛthu Mahārāja regularly every day. The word vimukta-saṅgaḥ is also significant in this connection. Because we associate with the three qualities of material nature, our position in this material world is full of dangers, but when we engage in the devotional service of the Lord by the process of śravaṇam and kīrtanam, we immediately become vimukta-saṅga, or liberated. Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Fourth Canto, Twenty-third Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “Mahārāja Pṛthu’s Going Back Home.” |
Paavk-" PavMaaNaê éuicirTYaGanYa" Paura ) viSaïXaaPaaduTPaàa" PauNaYaaeRGaGaiTa& GaTaa" )) 4 )) pāvakaḥ pavamānaś ca śucir ity agnayaḥ purā vasiṣṭha-śāpād utpannāḥ punar yoga-gatiṁ gatāḥ SYNONYMS pāvakaḥ—of the name Pāvaka; pavamānaḥ—of the name Pavamāna; ca—also; śuciḥ—of the name Śuci; iti—thus; agnayaḥ—the fire-gods; purā—formerly; vasiṣṭha—the great sage Vasiṣṭha; śāpāt—by being cursed; utpannāḥ—now born as such; punaḥ—again; yoga-gatim—the destination of mystic yoga practice; gatāḥ—attained. TRANSLATION The three sons of Mahārāja Antardhāna were named Pāvaka, Pavamāna and Śuci. Formerly these three personalities were the demigods of fire, but due to the curse of the great sage Vasiṣṭha, they became the sons of Mahārāja Antardhāna. As such, they were as powerful as the fire-gods, and they attained the destination of mystic yoga power, being again situated as the demigods of fire. PURPORT In the Bhagavad-gītā (6.41–43) it is stated that one who falls down from yoga practice is elevated to the heavenly planets, and after enjoying the material facilities there he again comes down to the earthly planet and takes birth in a very rich family or a very pious brāhmaṇa family. Thus it is to be understood that when demigods fall down, they come to earth as sons of very rich and pious families. In such families, the living entity gets an opportunity to execute Kṛṣṇa consciousness and thereby gain promotion to his desired goal. The sons of Mahārāja Antardhāna had been the demigods in charge of fire, and they regained their former position and by mystic power returned to the heavenly planets. |
TEXT 5 ANTaDaaRNaae Na>aSvTYaa& hivDaaRNaMaivNdTa ) Ya wNd]MaìhTaaRr& ivÜaNaiPa Na JaiganvaNa( )) 5 )) antardhāno nabhasvatyāṁ havirdhānam avindata ya indram aśva-hartāraṁ vidvān api na jaghnivān SYNONYMS antardhānaḥ—the king of the name Antardhāna; nabhasvatyām—unto his wife Nabhasvatī; havirdhānam—of the name Havirdhāna; avindata—obtained; yaḥ—who; indram—King Indra; aśva-hartāram—who was stealing the horse of his father; vidvān api—although he knew it; na jaghnivān—did not kill. TRANSLATION Mahārāja Antardhāna had another wife, named Nabhasvatī, and by her he was happy to beget another son, named Havirdhāna. Since Mahārāja Antardhāna was very liberal, he did not kill Indra while the demigod was stealing his father’s horse at the sacrifice. PURPORT It is understood from various scriptures and purāṇas that the King of heaven, Indra, was very expert in stealing and kidnapping. He could steal anything without being visible to the proprietor, and he could kidnap anyone’s wife without being detected. Once he raped the wife of Gautama Muni by using his disappearing art, and similarly by becoming invisible he stole the horse of Mahārāja Pṛthu. Although in human society such activities are considered abominable, the demigod Indra was not considered to be degraded by them. Although Antardhāna could understand that King Indra was stealing the horse from his father, he did not kill Indra, for he knew that if one who is very powerful sometimes commits an abominable act, it should be disregarded. In Bhagavad-gītā (9.30) it is clearly stated: api cet su-durācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ samyag vyavasito hi saḥ Thus the Lord says that even if a devotee commits an abominable act, he should be considered a sādhu, or a pious man, because of his unflinching devotion to the Lord. The devotees of the Lord never willingly commit any sinful act, but sometimes they commit something abominable due to their previous habits. Such acts should not be taken very seriously, however, because the devotees of the Lord are very powerful, whether they are on the heavenly planets or on this planet. If by chance they commit something abominable, it should not be taken into account, but should be overlooked. |
TEXT 7 Ta}aaiPa h&Sa& Pauåz& ParMaaTMaaNaMaaTMad*k(- ) YaJa&STaçaek-TaaMaaPa ku-Xale/Na SaMaaiDaNaa )) 7 )) tatrāpi haṁsaṁ puruṣaṁ paramātmānam ātma-dṛk yajaṁs tal-lokatām āpa kuśalena samādhinā SYNONYMS tatra api—despite his engagement; haṁsam—one who kills the distress of his kinsmen; puruṣam—unto the Supreme Person; parama-ātmānam—the most beloved Supersoul; ātma-dṛk—one who has seen or acquired self-realization; yajan—by worshiping; tat-lokatām—achieved the same planet; āpa—achieved; kuśalena—very easily; samādhinā—always keeping himself in ecstasy. TRANSLATION Although Mahārāja Antardhāna was engaged in performing sacrifices, because he was a self-realized soul he very intelligently rendered devotional service to the Lord, who eradicates all the fears of His devotees. By thus worshiping the Supreme Lord, Mahārāja Antardhāna, rapt in ecstasy, attained His planet very easily. PURPORT Since sacrifices are generally performed by fruitive actors, it is especially mentioned here (tatrāpi) that although Mahārāja Antardhāna was externally engaged in performing sacrifices, his real business was rendering devotional service by hearing and chanting. In other words, he was performing the usual sacrifices by the method of saṅkīrtana-yajña, as recommended herein: śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ sakhyam ātma-nivedanam (Bhāg. 7.5.23) Devotional service is called kīrtana-yajña, and by practicing the saṅkīrtana-yajña, one is very easily elevated to the planet where the Supreme Lord resides. Out of the five kinds of liberations, achieving the same planet where the Lord resides and living with the Lord there is called sālokya liberation. |
TEXT 10 YaSYaed& devYaJaNaMaNauYaj& ivTaNvTa" ) Pa[acqNaaGa]E" ku-XaEraSaqdaSTa*Ta& vSauDaaTal/Ma( )) 10 )) yasyedaṁ deva-yajanam anuyajñaṁ vitanvataḥ prācīnāgraiḥ kuśair āsīd āstṛtaṁ vasudhā-talam SYNONYMS yasya—whose; idam—this; deva-yajanam—satisfying the demigods by sacrifices; anuyajñam—continually sacrificing; vitanvataḥ—executing; prācīna-agraiḥ—keeping the kuśa grass facing toward the eastern side; kuśaiḥ—the kuśa grass; āsīt—remained; āstṛtam—scattered; vasudhā-talam—all over the surface of the globe. TRANSLATION Mahārāja Barhiṣat executed many sacrifices all over the world. He scattered kuśa grasses and kept the tops of the grasses pointed eastward. PURPORT As stated in the previous verse (kriyā-kāṇḍeṣu niṣṇātaḥ), Mahārāja Barhiṣat dived very deeply into the fruitive activities of sacrifice. This means that as soon as he finished one yajña in one place, he began performing another yajña in the immediate vicinity. At the present moment there is a similar need to perform saṅkīrtana-yajña all over the world. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement has started performing saṅkīrtana-yajña in different places, and it has been experienced that wherever saṅkīrtana-yajña is performed, many thousands of people gather and take part in it. Imperceptible auspiciousness achieved in this connection should be continued all over the world. The members of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement should perform saṅkīrtana-yajñas one after another, so much that all the people of the world will either jokingly or seriously chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, and thus they will derive the benefit of cleansing the heart. The holy name of the Lord (harer nāma [Adi 17.21]) is so powerful that whether it is chanted jokingly or seriously the effect of vibrating this transcendental sound will be equally distributed. It is not possible at the present moment to perform repeated yajñas as Mahārāja Barhiṣat performed, but it is within our means to perform saṅkīrtana-yajña, which does not cost anything. One can sit down anywhere and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. If the surface of the globe is overflooded with the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, the people of the world will be very, very happy. |
TEXT 14 iPa}aaidía" Pa[JaaSaGaeR TaPaSae_<aRvMaaivXaNa( ) dXavzRSahóai<a TaPaSaac|STaPaSPaiTaMa( )) 14 )) pitrādiṣṭāḥ prajā-sarge tapase ’rṇavam āviśan daśa-varṣa-sahasrāṇi tapasārcaṁs tapas-patim SYNONYMS pitrā—by the father; ādiṣṭāḥ—being ordered by; prajā-sarge—in the matter of begetting children; tapase—for executing austerity; arṇavam—in the ocean; āviśan—entered; daśa-varṣa—ten years; sahasrāṇi—such thousands; tapasā—by their austerity; ārcan—worshiped; tapaḥ—of austerity; patim—the master. TRANSLATION When all these Pracetās were ordered by their father to marry and beget children, they all entered the ocean and practiced austerities and penances for ten thousand years. Thus they worshiped the master of all austerity, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. PURPORT Sometimes great sages and ascetics enter the Himalaya Mountains in order to find seclusion from the turmoil of the world. It appears, however, that all the Pracetās, the sons of Prācīnabarhi, entered the depths of the ocean to perform austerity in a secluded place. Since they performed austerities for ten thousand years, this incident took place in the Satya-yuga, when people used to live for a hundred thousand years. It is also significant that by their austerity they worshiped the master of austerity, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If one wants to perform austerities and penances in order to attain the supreme goal, one must attain the favor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If one achieves the favor of the Supreme Lord, it is to be understood that he has finished all kinds of austerities and penances and has attained efficiency in their execution. On the other hand, if one does not attain the perfect stage of devotional service, all austerities and penances actually have no meaning, for without the Supreme Lord no one can attain the highest results derived from performing them. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (5.29), Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the master of all penances and sacrifices. Bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram. Thus the desired result of performing austerities may be derived from Lord Kṛṣṇa. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.33.7) it is stated: aho bata śva-paco ’to garīyān yaj-jihvāgre vartate nāma tubhyam tepus tapas te juhuvuḥ sasnur āryā brahmānūcur nāma gṛṇanti ye te Even if a person is born in a family of caṇḍālas—the lowest birth one can get in human society—he is glorious if he chants the holy names of the Lord, for it is to be understood that by such chanting a devotee definitely proves that he underwent all kinds of austerities in his previous life. By the grace of Lord Caitanya, one who chants the mahā-mantra (Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare) attains the highest perfectional stage, which had previously been attained by people who entered the ocean and executed austerities for ten thousand years. In this age of Kali, if a person does not take advantage of chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, which is offered as a great concession to the fallen human beings of this age, it is to be understood that he is very much bewildered by the illusory energy of the Lord. |
Yadu¢&- PaiQa d*íeNa iGairXaeNa Pa[SaqdTaa ) TaÖyaYaNTaae JaPaNTaê PaUJaYaNTaê Sa&YaTaa" )) 15 )) yad uktaṁ pathi dṛṣṭena giriśena prasīdatā tad dhyāyanto japantaś ca pūjayantaś ca saṁyatāḥ SYNONYMS yat—that; uktam—said; pathi—on the way; dṛṣṭena—while meeting; giriśena—by Lord Śiva; prasīdatā—being very much satisfied; tat—that; dhyāyantaḥ—meditating; japantaḥ ca—chanting also; pūjayantaḥ ca—worshiping also; saṁyatāḥ—with great control. TRANSLATION When all the sons of Prācīnabarhi left home to execute austerities, they met Lord Śiva, who, out of great mercy, instructed them about the Absolute Truth. All the sons of Prācīnabarhi meditated upon the instructions, chanting and worshiping them with great care and attention. PURPORT It is clear that to perform austerities or penances, or, for that matter, any form of devotional service, one has to be guided by a spiritual master. Here it is clearly stated that the ten sons of Mahārāja Prācīnabarhi were favored by the appearance of Lord Śiva, who, out of great kindness, gave them instructions regarding the execution of austerities. Lord Śiva actually became the spiritual master of the ten sons, and in turn his disciples took his words so seriously that simply by meditating upon his instructions (dhyāyantaḥ) they became perfect. This is the secret of success. After being initiated and receiving the orders of the spiritual master, the disciple should unhesitatingly think about the instructions or orders of the spiritual master and should not allow himself to be disturbed by anything else. This is also the verdict of Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, who, while explaining a verse of Bhagavad-gītā (vyavasāyātmikā buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana, Bg. 2.41), points out that the order of the spiritual master is the life substance of the disciple. The disciple should not consider whether he is going back home, back to Godhead; his first business should be to execute the order of his spiritual master. Thus a disciple should always meditate on the order of the spiritual master, and that is perfectional meditation. Not only should he meditate upon that order, but he should find out the means by which he can perfectly worship and execute it. |
AaTMaaraMaae_iPa YaSTvSYa l/aek-k-LPaSYa raDaSae ) Xa¢-ya Yau¢-ae ivcriTa gaaerYaa >aGavaNa( >av" )) 18 )) ātmārāmo ’pi yas tv asya loka-kalpasya rādhase śaktyā yukto vicarati ghorayā bhagavān bhavaḥ SYNONYMS ātma-ārāmaḥ—self-satisfied; api—although he is; yaḥ—one who is; tu—but; asya—this; loka—material world; kalpasya—when manifested; rādhase—for the matter of helping its existence; śaktyā—potencies; yuktaḥ—being engaged; vicarati—he acts; ghorayā—very dangerous; bhagavān—His Lordship; bhavaḥ—Śiva. TRANSLATION Lord Śiva, the most powerful demigod, second only to Lord Viṣṇu, is self-sufficient. Although he has nothing to aspire for in the material world, for the benefit of those in the material world he is always busily engaged everywhere and is accompanied by his dangerous energies like goddess Kālī and goddess Durgā. PURPORT Lord Śiva is known as the greatest devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is known as the best of all types of Vaiṣṇavas (vaiṣṇavānāṁ yathā śambhuḥ). Consequently, Lord Śiva has a Vaiṣṇava sampradāya, the disciplic succession known as the Rudra-sampradāya. Just as there is a Brahma-sampradāya coming directly from Lord Brahmā, the Rudra-sampradāya comes directly from Lord Śiva. Lord Śiva is one of the twelve great personalities, as stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (6.3.20): svayambhūr nāradaḥ śambhuḥ kumāraḥ kapilo manuḥ prahlādo janako bhīṣmo balir vaiyāsakir vayam These are twelve great authorities in preaching God consciousness. The name Śambhu means Lord Śiva. His disciplic succession is also known as the Viṣṇusvāmi-sampradāya, and the current Viṣṇusvāmi-sampradāya is also known as the Vallabha-sampradāya. The current Brahma-sampradāya is known as the Madhva-Gauḍīya-sampradāya. Even though Lord Śiva appeared to preach Māyāvāda philosophy, at the end of his pastime in the form of Śaṅkarācārya, he preached the Vaiṣṇava philosophy: bhaja govindaṁ bhaja govindaṁ bhaja govindaṁ mūḍha-mate. He stressed worshiping Lord Kṛṣṇa, or Govinda, three times in this verse and especially warned his followers that they could not possibly achieve deliverance, or mukti, simply by word jugglery and grammatical puzzles. If one is actually serious to attain mukti, he must worship Lord Kṛṣṇa. That is Śrīpāda Śaṅkarācārya’s last instruction. Herein it is mentioned that Lord Śiva is always accompanied by his material energy (śaktyā ghorayā). Material energy—goddess Durgā, or goddess Kālī—is always under his control. Goddess Kālī and Durgā serve him by killing all the asuras, or demons. Sometimes Kālī becomes so infuriated that she indiscriminately kills all kinds of asuras. There is a popular picture of goddess Kālī in which she wears a garland composed of the heads of the asuras and holds in her left hand a captured head and in her right hand a great khaḍga, or chopper, for killing asuras. Great wars are symbolic representations of Kālī’s devastation of the asuras and are actually conducted by the goddess Kālī. sṛṣṭi-sthiti-pralaya-sādhana-śaktir ekā (Brahma-saṁhitā 5.44) Asuras try to pacify the goddess Kālī, or Durgā, by worshiping her in material opulence, but when the asuras become too intolerable, goddess Kālī does not discriminate in killing them wholesale. Asuras do not know the secret of the energy of Lord Śiva, and they prefer to worship goddess Kālī or Durgā or Lord Śiva for material benefit. Due to their demoniac character, they are reluctant to surrender to Lord Kṛṣṇa, as indicated by Bhagavad-gītā (7.15): na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ māyayāpahṛta-jñānā āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ Lord Śiva’s duty is very dangerous because he has to employ the energy of goddess Kālī (or Durgā). In another popular picture the goddess Kālī is sometimes seen standing on the prostrate body of Lord Śiva, which indicates that sometimes Lord Śiva has to fall down flat in order to stop goddess Kālī from killing the asuras. Since Lord Śiva controls the great material energy (goddess Durgā), worshipers of Lord Śiva attain very opulent positions within this material world. Under Lord Śiva’s direction, a worshiper of Lord Śiva gets all kinds of material facilities. In contrast, a Vaiṣṇava, or worshiper of Lord Viṣṇu, gradually becomes poorer in material possessions because Lord Viṣṇu does not trick His devotees into becoming materially entangled by possessions. Lord Viṣṇu gives His devotees intelligence from within, as stated in Bhagavad-gītā (10.10): teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ yena mām upayānti te “To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.” Thus Lord Viṣṇu gives intelligence to His devotee so that the devotee can make progress on the path back home, back to Godhead. Since a devotee has nothing to do with any kind of material possession, he does not come under the control of goddess Kālī, or the goddess Durgā. Lord Śiva is also in charge of the tamo-guṇa, or the mode of ignorance in this material world. His potency, the goddess Durgā, is described as keeping all living entities in the darkness of ignorance (yā devī sarva-bhūteṣu nidra-rūpaṁ saṁsthitā). Both Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva are incarnations of Lord Viṣṇu, but Lord Brahmā is in charge of the creation whereas Lord Śiva is in charge of the destruction, which he carries out with the help of his material energy, goddess Kālī, or goddess Durgā. Thus in this verse Lord Śiva is described as being accompanied by dangerous potencies (śaktyā ghorayā), and that is the actual position of Lord Śiva. |
SaSaMaud]MauPa ivSTaq<aRMaPaXYaNa( SauMahTSar" ) MahNMaNa wv SvC^& Pa[SaàSail/l/aXaYaMa( )) 20 )) sa-samudram upa vistīrṇam apaśyan sumahat saraḥ mahan-mana iva svacchaṁ prasanna-salilāśayam SYNONYMS sa-samudram—almost near the ocean; upa—more or less; vistīrṇam—very wide and long; apaśyan—they saw; su-mahat—very great; saraḥ—reservoir of water; mahat—great soul; manaḥ—mind; iva—like; su-accham—clear; prasanna—joyful; salila—water; āśayam—taken shelter of. TRANSLATION While traveling, the Pracetās happened to see a great reservoir of water which seemed almost as big as the ocean. The water of this lake was so calm and quiet that it seemed like the mind of a great soul, and its inhabitants, the aquatics, appeared very peaceful and happy to be under the protection of such a watery reservoir. PURPORT The word sa-samudra means “near the sea.” The reservoir of water was like a bay, for it was not very far from the sea. The word upa, meaning “more or less,” is used in many ways, as in the word upapati, which indicates a husband “more or less,” that is to say, a lover who is acting like a husband. Upa also means “greater,” “smaller” or “nearer.” Considering all these points, the reservoir of water which was seen by the Pracetās while they were traveling was actually a large bay or lake. And unlike the sea or ocean, which has turbulent waves, this reservoir was very calm and quiet. Indeed, the water was so clear that it seemed like the mind of some great soul. There may be many great souls—jñānīs, yogīs and bhaktas, or pure devotees, are also called great souls—but they are very rarely found. One can find many great souls amongst yogīs and jñānīs, but a truly great soul, a pure devotee of the Lord, who is fully surrendered to the Lord, is very rarely found (sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ, Bg. 7.19). A devotee’s mind is always calm, quiet and desireless because he is always anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam [Madhya 19.167], having no desire other than to serve Kṛṣṇa as His personal servant, friend, father, mother or conjugal lover. Due to his association with Kṛṣṇa, a devotee is always very calm and cool. It is also significant that within that reservoir all the aquatics were also very calm and quiet. Because the disciples of a devotee have taken shelter of a great soul, they become very calm and quiet and are not agitated by the waves of the material world. This material world is often described as an ocean of nescience. In such an ocean, everything is agitated. The mind of a great devotee is also like an ocean or a very large lake, but there is no agitation. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (2.41): vyavasāyātmikā buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana. Those who are fixed in the service of the Lord are not agitated by anything. It is also stated in Bhagavad-gītā (6.22): yasmin sthito na duḥkhena guruṇāpi vicālyate. Even if he suffers some reversals in life, a devotee is never agitated. Therefore whoever takes shelter of a great soul or a great devotee becomes pacified. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 19.149) it is stated: kṛṣṇa-bhakta—niṣkāma, ataeva ‘śānta.’ A devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa is always peaceful because he has no desire, whereas the yogīs, karmīs and jñānīs have so many desires to fulfill. One may argue that the devotees have desires, for they wish to go home, back to Godhead, but such a desire does not agitate the mind. Although he wishes to go back to Godhead, a devotee is satisfied in any condition of life. Consequently, the word mahan-manaḥ is used in this verse to indicate that the reservoir of water was as calm and quiet as the mind of a great devotee. |
Ya" Par& r&hSa" Saa+aaiT}aGau<aaÂqvSa&ijTaaTa( ) >aGavNTa& vaSaudev& Pa[Paà" Sa iPa[Yaae ih Mae )) 28 )) yaḥ paraṁ raṁhasaḥ sākṣāt tri-guṇāj jīva-saṁjñitāt bhagavantaṁ vāsudevaṁ prapannaḥ sa priyo hi me SYNONYMS yaḥ—anyone; param—transcendental; raṁhasaḥ—of the controller; sākṣāt—directly; tri-guṇāt—from the three modes of material nature; jīva-saṁjñitāt—living entities called by the name jīvas; bhagavantam—unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; vāsudevam—unto Kṛṣṇa; prapannaḥ—surrendered; saḥ—he; priyaḥ—very dear; hi—undoubtedly; me—of me. TRANSLATION Lord Śiva continued: Any person who is surrendered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, the controller of everything—material nature as well as the living entity—is actually very dear to me. PURPORT Now Lord Śiva explains the reason he has personally come before the princes. It is because all the princes are devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (7.19): bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ “After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.” Lord Śiva is rarely seen by common men, and similarly a person who is fully surrendered unto Vāsudeva, Kṛṣṇa, is also very rarely seen because a person who is fully surrendered unto the Supreme Lord is very rare (sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ). Consequently Lord Śiva came especially to see the Pracetās because they were fully surrendered unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva. Vāsudeva is also mentioned in the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in the mantra, oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Since Vāsudeva is the ultimate truth, Lord Śiva openly proclaims that one who is a devotee of Lord Vāsudeva, who is surrendered to Lord Kṛṣṇa, is actually very dear to him. Lord Vāsudeva, Kṛṣṇa, is worshipable not only by ordinary living entities but by demigods like Lord Śiva, Lord Brahmā and others. Yaṁ brahmā-varuṇendra-rudra-marutaḥ stuvanti divyaiḥ stavaiḥ (Bhāg. 12.13.1). Kṛṣṇa is worshiped by Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, Varuṇa, Indra, Candra and all other demigods. That is also the situation with a devotee. Indeed, one who takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness immediately becomes very dear to anyone who is simply finding out and beginning to understand what Kṛṣṇa consciousness actually is. Similarly, all the demigods are also trying to find out who is actually surrendered to Lord Vāsudeva. Because the Pracetā princes were surrendered to Vāsudeva, Lord Śiva willingly came forth to see them. Lord Vāsudeva, or Kṛṣṇa, is described in Bhagavad-gītā as Puruṣottama. Actually He is the enjoyer (puruṣa) and the Supreme (uttama) as well. He is the enjoyer of everything—the prakṛti and the puruṣa. Being influenced by the three modes of material nature, the living entity tries to dominate material nature, but actually he is not the puruṣa (enjoyer) but prakṛti, as described in Bhagavad-gītā (7.5): apareyam itas tv anyāṁ prakṛtiṁ viddhi me parām. Thus the jīva, or living entity, is actually prakṛti, or the marginal energy of the Supreme Lord. Being associated with material energy, he tries to lord it over the material nature. This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (15.7): mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati “The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind.” By endeavoring to dominate material nature, the living entity simply struggles hard for existence. Indeed, he struggles so hard to enjoy himself that he cannot even enjoy the material resources. Thus he is sometimes called prakṛti, or jīva, for he is situated in the marginal potency. When the living entity is covered with the three modes of material nature, he is called jīva-saṁjñita. There are two kinds of living entities: one is called kṣara, and the other is akṣara. Kṣara refers to those who have fallen down and become conditioned, and akṣara refers to those who are not conditioned. The vast majority of living entities live in the spiritual world and are called akṣara. They are in the position of Brahman, pure spiritual existence. They are different from those who have been conditioned by the three modes of material nature. Being above both the kṣara and akṣara, Lord Kṛṣṇa, Vāsudeva, is described in Bhagavad-gītā (15.18) as Puruṣottama. The impersonalists may say that Vāsudeva is the impersonal Brahman, but actually the impersonal Brahman is subordinate to Kṛṣṇa, as also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (14.27): brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham. That Kṛṣṇa is the source of the impersonal Brahman is also confirmed in Brahma-saṁhitā (5.40): yasya prabhā prabhavato jagadaṇḍa-koṭi. The impersonal Brahman is nothing but the effulgence or bodily rays of Kṛṣṇa, and in those bodily rays there are innumerable universes floating. Thus in all respects Vāsudeva, Kṛṣṇa, is the Supreme Lord, and Lord Śiva is very satisfied with those who are completely surrendered to Him. Complete surrender is desired by Kṛṣṇa, as He indicates in the last chapter of Bhagavad-gītā (18.66): sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja. The word sākṣāt, meaning “directly,” is very significant. There are many so-called devotees, but actually they are only karmīs and jñānīs, for they are not directly devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa. The karmīs sometimes offer the results of their activities to Lord Vāsudeva, and this offering is called karmārpaṇam. These are considered to be fruitive activities, for the karmīs consider Lord Viṣṇu to be one of the demigods like Lord Śiva and Lord Brahmā. Because they consider Lord Viṣṇu to be on the same level with the demigods, they contend that surrendering to the demigods is as good as surrendering unto Vāsudeva. This contention is denied herein because if it were true, Lord Śiva would have said that surrender unto him, Lord Vāsudeva, Viṣṇu or Brahmā is the same. However, Lord Śiva does not say this because he himself surrenders unto Vāsudeva, and whoever else surrenders unto Vāsudeva is very, very dear to him. This is expressed herein openly. The conclusion is that a devotee of Lord Śiva is not dear to Lord Śiva, but a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa is very dear to Lord Śiva. |
TEXT 29 SvDaMaRiNaï" XaTaJaNMai>a" PauMaaNa( ivirÄTaaMaeiTa TaTa" Par& ih MaaMa( ) AVYaak*-Ta& >aaGavTaae_Qa vEZ<av& Pad& YaQaah& ivbuDaa" k-l/aTYaYae )) 29 )) sva-dharma-niṣṭhaḥ śata-janmabhiḥ pumān viriñcatām eti tataḥ paraṁ hi mām avyākṛtaṁ bhāgavato ’tha vaiṣṇavaṁ padaṁ yathāhaṁ vibudhāḥ kalātyaye SYNONYMS sva-dharma-niṣṭhaḥ—one who is situated in his own dharma, or occupation; śata-janmabhiḥ—for one hundred births; pumān—a living entity; viriñcatām—the post of Lord Brahmā; eti—gets; tataḥ—thereafter; param—above; hi—certainly; mām—attains me; avyākṛtam—without deviation; bhāgavataḥ—unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; atha—therefore; vaiṣṇavam—a pure devotee of the Lord; padam—post; yathā—as; aham—I; vibudhāḥ—demigods; kalā-atyaye—after the annihilation of the material world. TRANSLATION A person who executes his occupational duty properly for one hundred births becomes qualified to occupy the post of Brahmā, and if he becomes more qualified, he can approach Lord Śiva. A person who is directly surrendered to Lord Kṛṣṇa, or Viṣṇu, in unalloyed devotional service is immediately promoted to the spiritual planets. Lord Śiva and other demigods attain these planets after the destruction of this material world. PURPORT This verse gives an idea of the highest perfection of the evolutionary process. As described by the Vaiṣṇava poet Jayadeva Gosvāmī, pralaya-payodhi jale dhṛtavān asi vedam **. Let us begin tracing the evolutionary process from the point of devastation (pralaya), when the whole universe is filled with water. At that time there are many fishes and other aquatics, and from these aquatics evolve creepers, trees, etc. From these, insects and reptiles evolve, and from them birds, beasts and then human beings and finally civilized human beings. Now, the civilized human being is at a junction where he can make further evolutionary progress in spiritual life. Here it is stated (sva-dharma-niṣṭhaḥ) that when a living entity comes to a civilized form of life, there must be sva-dharma, social divisions according to one’s work and qualifications. This is indicated in Bhagavad-gītā (4.13): cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ “According to the three modes of material nature and the work ascribed to them, the four divisions of human society were created by Me.” In civilized human society there must be the divisions of brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra, and everyone must properly execute his occupational duty in accordance with his division. Here it is described (svadharma-niṣṭhaḥ) that it does not matter whether one is a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya or śūdra. If one sticks to his position and properly executes his particular duty, he is considered a civilized human being. Otherwise he is no better than an animal. It is also mentioned herein that whoever executes his occupational duty (sva-dharma) for one hundred births (for instance, if a brāhmaṇa continues to act as a brāhmaṇa) becomes eligible for promotion to Brahmaloka, the planet where Lord Brahmā lives. There is also a planet called Śivaloka, or Sadāśivaloka, which is situated in a marginal position between the spiritual and material worlds. If, after being situated in Brahmaloka, one becomes more qualified, he is promoted to Sadāśivaloka. Similarly, when one becomes even more qualified, he can attain the Vaikuṇṭhalokas. The Vaikuṇṭhalokas are targets for everyone, even the demigods, and they can be attained by a devotee who has no desire for material benefit. As indicated in Bhagavad-gītā (8.16), one does not escape material miseries even if he is elevated to Brahmaloka (ābrahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino ’rjuna). Similarly, one is not very safe even if he is promoted to Śivaloka, because the planet of Śivaloka is marginal. However, if one attains Vaikuṇṭhaloka, he attains the highest perfection of life and the end of the evolutionary process (mām upetya tu kaunteya punar janma na vidyate). In other words, it is confirmed herein that a person in human society who has developed consciousness must take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness in order to be promoted to Vaikuṇṭhaloka or Kṛṣṇaloka immediately after leaving the body. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti so ’rjuna (Bg. 4.9). A devotee who is fully in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, who is not attracted by any other loka, or planet, including Brahmaloka and Śivaloka, is immediately transferred to Kṛṣṇaloka (mām eti). That is the highest perfection of life and the perfection of the evolutionary process. |
TEXT 30 AQa >aaGavTaa YaUYa& iPa[Yaa" SQa >aGavaNa( YaQaa ) Na MaÙaGavTaaNaa& c Pa[eYaaNaNYaae_iSTa k-ihRicTa( )) 30 )) atha bhāgavatā yūyaṁ priyāḥ stha bhagavān yathā na mad bhāgavatānāṁ ca preyān anyo ’sti karhicit SYNONYMS atha—therefore; bhāgavatāḥ—devotees; yūyam—all of you; priyāḥ—very dear to me; stha—you are; bhagavān—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; yathā—as; na—neither; mat—than me; bhāgavatānām—of the devotees; ca—also; preyān—very dear; anyaḥ—others; asti—there is; karhicit—at any time. TRANSLATION You are all devotees of the Lord, and as such I appreciate that you are as respectable as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. I know in this way that the devotees also respect me and that I am dear to them. Thus no one can be as dear to the devotees as I am. PURPORT It is said, vaiṣṇavānāṁ yathā śambhuḥ: Lord Śiva is the best of all devotees. Therefore all devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa are also devotees of Lord Śiva. In Vṛndāvana there is Lord Śiva’s temple called Gopīśvara. The gopīs used to worship not only Lord Śiva but Kātyāyanī, or Durgā, as well, but their aim was to attain the favor of Lord Kṛṣṇa. A devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa does not disrespect Lord Śiva, but worships Lord Śiva as the most exalted devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Consequently whenever a devotee worships Lord Śiva, he prays to Lord Śiva to achieve the favor of Kṛṣṇa, and he does not request material profit. In Bhagavad-gītā (7.20) it is said that generally people worship demigods for some material profit. Kāmais tais tair hṛta jñānāḥ. Driven by material lust, they worship demigods, but a devotee never does so, for he is never driven by material lust. That is the difference between a devotee’s respect for Lord Śiva and an asura’s respect for him. The asura worships Lord Śiva, takes some benediction from him, misuses the benediction and ultimately is killed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who awards him liberation. Because Lord Śiva is a great devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he loves all the devotees of the Supreme Lord. Lord Śiva told the Pracetās that because they were devotees of the Lord, he loved them very much. Lord Śiva was not kind and merciful only to the Pracetās; anyone who is a devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is very dear to Lord Śiva. Not only are the devotees dear to Lord Śiva, but he respects them as much as he respects the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Similarly, devotees of the Supreme Lord also worship Lord Śiva as the most dear devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. They do not worship him as a separate Personality of Godhead. It is stated in the list of nāma-aparādhas that it is an offense to think that the chanting of the name of Hari and the chanting of Hara, or Śiva, are the same. The devotees must always know that Lord Viṣṇu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that Lord Śiva is His devotee. A devotee should be offered respect on the level of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and sometimes even more respect. Indeed, Lord Rāma, the Personality of Godhead Himself, sometimes worshiped Lord Śiva. If a devotee is worshiped by the Lord, why should a devotee not be worshiped by other devotees on the same level with the Lord? This is the conclusion. From this verse it appears that Lord Śiva blesses the asuras simply for the sake of formality. Actually he loves one who is devoted to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. |
é[qåd] ovac iJaTa& Ta AaTMaivÜYaRSvSTaYae SviSTarSTau Mae ) >avTaaraDaSaa raÖ& SavRSMaa AaTMaNae NaMa" )) 33 )) śrī-rudra uvāca jitaṁ ta ātma-vid-varya- svastaye svastir astu me bhavatārādhasā rāddhaṁ sarvasmā ātmane namaḥ SYNONYMS śrī-rudraḥ uvāca—Lord Śiva began to speak; jitam—all glories; te—unto You; ātma-vit—self-realized; varya—the best; svastaye—unto the auspicious; svastiḥ—auspiciousness; astu—let there be; me—of me; bhavatā—by You; ārādhasā—by the all-perfect; rāddham—worshipable; sarvasmai—the Supreme Soul; ātmane—unto the Supreme Soul; namaḥ—obeisances. TRANSLATION Lord Śiva addressed the Supreme Personality of Godhead with the following prayer: O Supreme Personality of Godhead, all glories unto You. You are the most exalted of all self-realized souls. Since You are always auspicious for the self-realized, I wish that You be auspicious for me. You are worshipable by virtue of the all-perfect instructions You give. You are the Supersoul; therefore I offer my obeisances unto You as the supreme living being. PURPORT As soon as a devotee is inspired by the Lord to offer the Lord a prayer, the devotee immediately glorifies the Lord in the beginning by saying, “All glories unto You, my Lord.” The Lord is glorified because He is considered to be the chief of all self-realized souls. As said in the Vedas (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13), nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām: the Supreme Being, the Personality of Godhead, is the chief living being amongst all living beings. There are different kinds of individual living beings—some of them are in this material world, and some are in the spiritual world. Those who are in the spiritual world are known to be completely self-realized because on the spiritual platform the living entity is not forgetful of his service to the Lord. Therefore in the spiritual world all those who are in the devotional service of the Lord are eternally fixed, for they understand the position of the Supreme Being, as well as their individual constitution. Thus amongst self-realized souls, the Lord is known as the perfectly self-realized soul. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām. When the individual soul is fixed in his knowledge of the Lord as the Supreme Being, he actually becomes established in an all-auspicious position. Lord Śiva prays herein that his auspicious position continue eternally by virtue of the Lord’s mercy upon him. The Supreme Lord is all-perfect, and the Lord instructs that one who worships Him also becomes perfect. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15): mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca. The Lord is situated as the Supersoul in everyone’s heart, but He is so kind to His devotees that He gives them instructions by which they may continue to progress. When they receive instructions from the all-perfect, there is no chance of their being misled. This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (10.10): dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ yena mām upayānti te. The Lord is always ready to give instructions to the pure devotee so that the devotee can advance further and further in devotional service. Since the Lord gives instructions as sarvātmā, the Supersoul, Lord Śiva offers Him respect with the words sarvātmā ātmane namaḥ. The individual soul is called ātmā, and the Lord is also called ātmā as well as Paramātmā. Being situated in everyone’s heart, the Lord is known as the supreme ātmā. Therefore all obeisances are offered unto Him. In this regard, one may refer to the prayers of Kuntī in the First Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.8.20): tathā paramahaṁsānāṁ munīnām amalātmanām bhakti-yoga-vidhānārthaṁ kathaṁ paśyema hi striyaḥ The Lord is always ready to give instructions to the paramahaṁsas, or the topmost devotees of the Lord, who are completely liberated from all contaminations of the material world. The Lord always gives instructions to such exalted devotees to inform them how they can remain fixed in devotional service. Similarly, it is stated in the ātmārāma verse (Bhāg. 1.7.10): ātmārāmāś ca munayo nirgranthā apy urukrame kurvanty ahaitukīṁ bhaktim ittham-bhūta-guṇo hariḥ The word ātmārāma refers to those who are not interested in the material world but are simply engaged in spiritual realization. Such self-realized persons are generally considered in two categories—impersonal and personal. However, impersonalists also become devotees when they are attracted by the personal transcendental qualities of the Lord. The conclusion is that Lord Śiva wanted to remain a fixed devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva. As explained in the following verses, Lord Śiva never desires to merge into the existence of the Supreme Lord like the impersonalists. Rather, he thinks that it would be good fortune for him to continue to be fixed in the understanding of the Lord as the Supreme Being. By this understanding, one realizes that all living entities—including Lord Śiva, Lord Brahmā and other demigods—are servants of the Supreme Lord. |
NaMaae NaMaae_iNaåÖaYa ôzqke-XaeiNd]YaaTMaNae ) NaMa" ParMah&SaaYa PaU<aaRYa iNa>a*TaaTMaNae )) 36 )) namo namo ’niruddhāya hṛṣīkeśendriyātmane namaḥ paramahaṁsāya pūrṇāya nibhṛtātmane SYNONYMS namaḥ—all my obeisances unto You; namaḥ—obeisances again; aniruddhāya—unto Lord Aniruddha; hṛṣīkeśa—the master of the senses; indriya-ātmane—the director of the senses; namaḥ—all obeisances unto You; parama-haṁsāya—unto the supreme perfect; pūrṇāya—unto the supreme complete; nibhṛta-ātmane—who is situated apart from this material creation. TRANSLATION My Lord, as the supreme directing Deity known as Aniruddha, You are the master of the senses and the mind. I therefore offer my obeisances unto You again and again. You are known as Ananta as well as Saṅkarṣaṇa because of Your ability to destroy the whole creation by the blazing fire from Your mouth. PURPORT Hṛṣīkeśendriyātmane. The mind is the director of the senses, and Lord Aniruddha is the director of the mind. In order to execute devotional service, one has to fix his mind on the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa; therefore Lord Śiva prays to the controller of the mind, Lord Aniruddha, to be pleased to help him engage his mind on the lotus feet of the Lord. It is stated in Bhagavad-gītā (9.34): man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī mām. namaskuru. The mind has to be engaged in meditation on the lotus feet of the Lord in order to execute devotional service. It is also stated in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15), mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca: from the Lord come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. Thus if Lord Aniruddha is pleased, He can help the mind engage in the service of the Lord. It is also indicated in this verse that Lord Aniruddha is the sun-god by virtue of His expansions. Since the predominating deity of the sun is an expansion of Lord Aniruddha, Lord Śiva also prays to the sun-god in this verse. Lord Kṛṣṇa, by His quadruple expansion (Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha), is the Lord of psychic action—namely thinking, feeling, willing and acting. Lord Śiva prays to Lord Aniruddha as the sun-god, who is the controlling deity of the external material elements which constitute the construction of the material body. According to Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, the word paramahaṁsa is also another name for the sun-god. The sun-god is addressed herein as nibhṛtātmane, which indicates that he always maintains the various planets by manipulating the rainfall. The sun-god evaporates water from the seas and oceans and then forms the water into clouds and distributes it over land. When there is sufficient rainfall grains are produced, and these grains maintain living entities in each and every planet. The sun-god is also addressed herein as pūrṇa, or complete, because the rays emanating from the sun have no end. For millions and millions of years since the creation of this universe, the sun-god has been supplying heat and light without diminution. The word paramahaṁsa is applied to persons who are completely cleansed. When there is sufficient sunshine, the mind remains clear and transparent—in other words, the sun-god helps the mind of the living entity to become situated on the platform of paramahaṁsa. Thus Lord Śiva prays to Aniruddha to be kind upon him so that his mind will always be in the perfect state of cleanliness and will be engaged in the devotional service of the Lord. Just as fire sterilizes all unclean things, the sun-god also keeps everything sterilized, especially dirty things within the mind, thus enabling one to attain elevation to the platform of spiritual understanding. |
AQaRil/(r)aYa Na>aSae NaMaae_NTabRihraTMaNae ) NaMa" Pau<YaaYa l/aek-aYa AMauZMaE >aUirvcRSae )) 40 )) artha-liṅgāya nabhase namo ’ntar-bahir-ātmane namaḥ puṇyāya lokāya amuṣmai bhūri-varcase SYNONYMS artha—meaning; liṅgāya—revealing; nabhase—unto the sky; namaḥ—offering obeisances; antaḥ—within; bahiḥ—and without; ātmane—unto the self; namaḥ—offering obeisances; puṇyāya—pious activities; lokāya—for creation; amuṣmai—beyond death; bhūri-varcase—the supreme effulgence. TRANSLATION My dear Lord, by expanding Your transcendental vibrations, You reveal the actual meaning of everything. You are the all-pervading sky within and without, and You are the ultimate goal of pious activities executed both within this material world and beyond it. I therefore offer my respectful obeisances again and again unto You. PURPORT Vedic evidence is called śabda-brahma. There are many things which are beyond the perception of our imperfect senses, yet the authoritative evidence of sound vibration is perfect. The Vedas are known as śabda-brahma because evidence taken from the Vedas constitutes the ultimate understanding. This is because śabda-brahma, or the Vedas, represents the Supreme Personality of Godhead. However, the real essence of śabda-brahma is the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. By vibrating this transcendental sound, the meaning of everything, both material and spiritual, is revealed. This Hare Kṛṣṇa is nondifferent from the Personality of Godhead. The meaning of everything is received through the air through sound vibration. The vibration may be material or spiritual, but without sound vibration no one can understand the meaning of anything. In the Vedas it is said, antar bahiś ca tat sarvaṁ vyāya nārāyaṇaḥ sthitaḥ: “Nārāyaṇa is all-pervading, and He exists both within and without.” This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (13.34): yathā prakāśayaty ekaḥ kṛtsnaṁ lokam imaṁ raviḥ kṣetraṁ kṣetrī tathā kṛtsnaṁ prakāśayati bhārata “O son of Bharata, as the sun alone illuminates all this universe, so do the living entity and the Supersoul illuminate the entire body by consciousness.” In other words, the consciousness of both the soul and Supersoul is all-pervading; the limited consciousness of the living entity is pervading the entire material body, and the supreme consciousness of the Lord is pervading the entire universe. Because the soul is present within the body, consciousness pervades the entire body; similarly, because the supreme soul, or Kṛṣṇa, is present within this universe, everything is working in order. Mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram: “This material nature is working under My direction, O son of Kuntī, and it is producing all moving and unmoving beings.” (Bg. 9.10) Lord Śiva is therefore praying to the Personality of Godhead to be kind to us so that simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra we can understand everything in both the material and spiritual worlds. The word amuṣmai is significant in this regard because it indicates the best target one can aim for after attaining the higher planetary systems. Those who are engaged in fruitive activities (karmīs) attain the higher planetary systems as a result of their past activities, and the jñānīs, who seek unification or a monistic merging with the effulgence of the Supreme Lord, also attain their desired end, but in the ultimate issue, the devotees, who desire to personally associate with the Lord, are promoted to the Vaikuṇṭhalokas or Goloka Vṛndāvana. The Lord is described in Bhagavad-gītā (10.12) as pavitraṁ paramam, the supreme pure. This is also confirmed in this verse. Śukadeva Gosvāmī has stated that the cowherd boys who played with Lord Kṛṣṇa were not ordinary living entities. Only after accumulating many pious activities in various births does one get the opportunity to personally associate with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Since only the pure can reach Him, He is the supreme pure. |
TEXT 41 Pa[v*taaYa iNav*taaYa iPaTa*devaYa k-MaR<ae ) NaMaae_DaMaRivPaak-aYa Ma*TYave du"%daYa c )) 41 )) pravṛttāya nivṛttāya pitṛ-devāya karmaṇe namo ’dharma-vipākāya mṛtyave duḥkha-dāya ca SYNONYMS pravṛttāya—inclination; nivṛttāya—disinclination; pitṛ-devāya—unto the master of Pitṛloka; karmaṇe—unto the resultant action of fruitive activities; namaḥ—offering respects; adharma—irreligious; vipākāya—unto the result; mṛtyave—unto death; duḥkha-dāya—the cause of all kinds of miserable conditions; ca—also. TRANSLATION My dear Lord, You are the viewer of the results of pious activities. You are inclination, disinclination and their resultant activities. You are the cause of the miserable conditions of life caused by irreligion, and therefore You are death. I offer You my respectful obeisances. PURPORT The Supreme Personality of Godhead is situated in everyone’s heart, and from Him issue a living entity’s inclinations and disinclinations. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15): sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca “I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness.” The Supreme Personality of Godhead causes the asuras to forget Him and the devotees to remember Him. One’s disinclinations are due to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. According to Bhagavad-gītā (16.7), pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca janā na vidur āsurāḥ: the asuras do not know which way one should be inclined to act and which way one should not be inclined to act. Although the asuras oppose devotional service, it is to be understood that they are inclined that way due to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Because the asuras do not like to engage in the Lord’s devotional service, the Lord within gives them the intelligence to forget. Ordinary karmīs desire promotion to Pitṛloka, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (9.25). Yānti deva-vratā devān pitṝn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ: “Those who worship the demigods will take birth among the demigods, and those who worship ancestors go to the ancestors.” In this verse the word duḥkha-dāya is also very significant, for those who are nondevotees are perpetually put into the cycle of birth and death. This is a very miserable condition. Because one’s position in life is attained according to one’s activities, the asuras, or nondevotees, are put into such miserable conditions. |
NaMaSTa AaiXazaMaqXa MaNave k-ar<aaTMaNae ) NaMaae DaMaaRYa b*hTae k*-Z<aaYaaku-<#=MaeDaSae ) PauåzaYa Paura<aaYa Saa&:YaYaaeGaeìraYa c )) 42 )) namas ta āśiṣām īśa manave kāraṇātmane namo dharmāya bṛhate kṛṣṇāyākuṇṭha-medhase puruṣāya purāṇāya sāṅkhya-yogeśvarāya ca SYNONYMS namaḥ—offering obeisances; te—unto You; āśiṣām īśa—O topmost of all bestowers of benediction; manave—unto the supreme mind or supreme Manu; kāraṇa-ātmane—the supreme cause of all causes; namaḥ—offering obeisances; dharmāya—unto one who knows the best of all religion; bṛhate—the greatest; kṛṣṇāya—unto Kṛṣṇa; akuṇṭha-medhase—unto one whose brain activity is never checked; puruṣāya—the Supreme Person; purāṇāya—the oldest of the old; sāṅkhya-yoga-īśvarāya—the master of the principles of sāṅkhya-yoga; ca—and. TRANSLATION My dear Lord, You are the topmost of all bestowers of all benediction, the oldest and supreme enjoyer amongst all enjoyers. You are the master of all the worlds’ metaphysical philosophy, for You are the supreme cause of all causes, Lord Kṛṣṇa. You are the greatest of all religious principles, the supreme mind, and You have a brain which is never checked by any condition. Therefore I repeatedly offer my obeisances unto You. PURPORT The words kṛṣṇāya akuṇṭha-medhase are significant in this verse. Modern scientists have stopped their brainwork by discovering the theory of uncertainty, but factually for a living being there cannot be any brain activity which is not checked by time and space limitations. A living entity is called aṇu, an atomic particle of the supreme soul, and therefore his brain is also atomic. It cannot accommodate unlimited knowledge. This does not mean, however, that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, has a limited brain. What Kṛṣṇa says and does is not limited by time and space. In Bhagavad-gītā (7.26) the Lord says: vedāhaṁ samatītāni vartamānāni cārjuna bhaviṣyāṇi ca bhūtāni māṁ tu veda na kaścana “O Arjuna, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, I know everything that has happened in the past, all that is happening in the present, and all things that are yet to come. I also know all living entities; but Me no one knows.” Kṛṣṇa knows everything, but one cannot know Kṛṣṇa without being favored by Him. Thus for Kṛṣṇa and His representative there is no question of a theory of uncertainty. What Kṛṣṇa says is all perfect and certain and is applicable to the past, present and future. Nor is there any uncertainty for one who knows exactly what Kṛṣṇa says. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is based on Bhagavad-gītā as it is, as spoken by Lord Kṛṣṇa, and for those who are engaged in this movement, there is no question of uncertainty. Lord Kṛṣṇa is also addressed herein as āśiṣām īśa. The great saintly personalities, sages and demigods are able to offer benedictions to ordinary living entities, but they in turn are benedicted by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Without being benedicted by Kṛṣṇa, one cannot offer benediction to anyone else. The word manave, meaning “unto the supreme Manu,” is also significant. The supreme Manu in Vedic literature is Svāyambhuva Manu, who is an incarnation of Kṛṣṇa. All the Manus are empowered incarnations of Kṛṣṇa (manvantara-avatāra). There are fourteen Manus in one day of Brahmā, 420 in one month, all the Manus are directors of human society, ultimately Kṛṣṇa is the supreme director of human society. In another sense, the word manave indicates the perfection of all kinds of mantras. The mantra delivers the conditioned soul from his bondage; so simply by chanting the mantra Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, one can gain deliverance from any condition. Kāraṇātmane: everything has a cause. The theory of chance is repudiated in this verse. Because everything has its cause, there is no question of chance. Because so-called philosophers and scientists are unable to find the real cause, they foolishly say that everything happens by chance. In Brahma-saṁhitā Kṛṣṇa is described as the cause of all causes; therefore He is addressed herein as kāraṇātmane. His very personality is the original cause of everything, the root of everything and the seed of everything. As described in the Vedānta-sūtra (1.1.2), janmādy asya yataḥ: [SB 1.1.1] the Absolute Truth is the supreme cause of all emanations. The word sāṅkhya-yogeśvarāya is also significant herein, for Kṛṣṇa is described in Bhagavad-gītā as Yogeśvara, the master of all mystic powers. Without possessing inconceivable mystic powers, one cannot be accepted as God. In this age of Kali, those who have a little fragmental portion of mystic power claim to be God, but such pseudo Gods can only be accepted as fools, for only Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Person who possesses all mystic and yogic perfections. The sāṅkhya-yoga system popular at the present moment was propounded by the atheist Kapila, but the original sāṅkhya-yoga system was propounded by an incarnation of Kṛṣṇa also named Kapila, the son of Devahūti. Similarly, Dattātreya, another incarnation of Kṛṣṇa, also explained the sāṅkhya-yoga system. Thus Kṛṣṇa is the origin of all sāṅkhya-yoga systems and mystic yoga powers. The words puruṣāya purāṇāya are also worthy of special attention. In Brahma-saṁhitā, Kṛṣṇa is accepted as the ādi-puruṣa, the original person, or the original enjoyer. In Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Kṛṣṇa is also accepted as purāṇa-puruṣa, the oldest person. Although He is the oldest of all personalities, He is also the youngest of all, or nava-yauvana. Another significant word is dharmāya. Since Kṛṣṇa is the original propounder of all kinds of religious principles, it is said: dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam (Bhāg. 6.3.19). No one can introduce a new type of religion, for religion is already there, having been established by Lord Kṛṣṇa. In Bhagavad-gītā Kṛṣṇa informs us of the original dharma and asks us to give up all kinds of religious principles. The real dharma is surrender unto Him. In the Mahābhārata, it is also said: ye ca veda-vido viprā ye cādhyātma-vido janāḥ te vadanti mahātmānaṁ kṛṣṇaṁ dharmaṁ sanātanam The purport is that one who has studied the Vedas perfectly, who is a perfect vipra, or knower of the Vedas, who knows what spiritual life actually is, speaks about Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Person, as one’s sanātana-dharma. Lord Śiva therefore teaches us the principles of sanātana-dharma. |
TEXT 44 dXaRNa& Naae idd*+aU<aa& deih >aaGavTaaicRTaMa( ) æPa& iPa[YaTaMa& SvaNaa& SaveRiNd]YaGau<aaÅNaMa( )) 44 )) darśanaṁ no didṛkṣūṇāṁ dehi bhāgavatārcitam rūpaṁ priyatamaṁ svānāṁ sarvendriya-guṇāñjanam SYNONYMS darśanam—vision; naḥ—our; didṛkṣūṇām—desirous to see; dehi—kindly exhibit; bhāgavata—of the devotees; arcitam—as worshiped by them; rūpam—form; priya-tamam—dearmost; svānām—of Your devotees; sarva-indriya—all the senses; guṇa—qualities; añjanam—very much pleasing. TRANSLATION My dear Lord, I wish to see You exactly in the form that Your very dear devotees worship. You have many other forms, but I wish to see Your form that is especially liked by the devotees. Please be merciful upon me and show me that form, for only that form worshiped by the devotees can perfectly satisfy all the demands of the senses. PURPORT In the śruti, or veda-mantra, it is said that the Supreme Absolute Truth is sarva-kāmaḥ sarva-gandhaḥ sarva-rasaḥ, or, in other words, He is known as raso vai saḥ, the source of all relishable relationships (rasas). We have various senses—the powers of seeing, tasting, smelling, touching, etc.—and all the propensities of our senses can be satisfied when the senses are engaged in the service of the Lord. Hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate: “Bhakti means engaging all the senses in the service of the master of the senses, Hṛṣīkeśa.” (Nārada-pañcarātra) These material senses, however, cannot be engaged in the service of the Lord; therefore one has to become free from all designations. Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tatparatvena nirmalam [Cc. Madhya 19.170]. One has to become free from all designation or false egotism and thus become purified. When we engage our senses in the service of the Lord, the desires or the inclinations of the senses can be perfectly fulfilled. Lord Śiva therefore wants to see the Lord in a form which is inconceivable to the Bauddha philosophers, or the Buddhists. The impersonalists and the voidists also have to see the form of the Absolute. In Buddhist temples there are forms of Lord Buddha in meditation, but these are not worshiped like the forms of the Lord in Vaiṣṇava temples (forms like Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, Sītā-Rāma or Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa). Amongst the different sampradāyas (Vaiṣṇava sects) either Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa or Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa is worshiped. Lord Śiva wants to see that form perfectly, just as the devotees want to see it. I he words rūpaṁ priyatamaṁ svānām are specifically mentioned here, indicating that Lord Śiva wants to see that form which is very dear to the devotees. The word svānām is especially significant because only the devotees are very, very dear to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The jñānīs, yogīs and karmīs are not particularly dear, for the karmīs simply want to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead as their order supplier. The jñānīs want to see Him to become one with Him, and the yogīs want to see Him partially represented within their heart as Paramātmā, but the bhaktas, or the devotees, want to see Him in His complete perfection. As stated in Brahma-saṁhitā (5.30): veṇuṁ kvaṇantam aravinda-dalāyatākṣaṁ barhāvataṁsam asitāmbuda-sundarāṅgam kandarpa-koṭi-kamanīya-viśeṣa-śobhaṁ govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi “I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is adept at playing on His flute, whose eyes are blooming like lotus petals, whose head is bedecked with peacock feathers, whose beauty is tinged with the hue of blue clouds, and whose unique loveliness charms millions of Cupids.” Thus Lord Śiva’s desire is to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead as He is described in this way—that is, he wants to see Him as He appears to the bhāgavatas, the devotees. The conclusion is that Lord Śiva wants to see Him in complete perfection and not in the impersonalist or voidist way. Although the Lord is one in His various forms (advaitam acyutam anādim), still His form as the young enjoyer of the gopīs and companion of the cowherd boys (kiśora-mūrti) is the most perfect form. Thus Vaiṣṇavas accept the form of the Lord in His Vṛndāvana pastimes as the chief form. |
iòGDaPa[av*@(gaNaXYaaMa& SavRSaaENdYaRSa°hMa( ) cavaRYaTacTaubaRhu SauJaaTaåicraNaNaMa( )) 45 )) PaÚk-aeXaPal/aXaa+a& SauNdr>a]u SauNaaiSak-Ma( ) SauiÜJa& Sauk-Paael/aSYa& SaMak-<aRiv>aUz<aMa( )) 46 )) snigdha-prāvṛḍ-ghana-śyāmaṁ sarva-saundarya-saṅgraham cārv-āyata-catur-bāhu sujāta-rucirānanam padma-kośa-palāśākṣaṁ sundara-bhru sunāsikam sudvijaṁ sukapolāsyaṁ sama-karṇa-vibhūṣaṇam SYNONYMS snigdha—glistening; prāvṛṭ—rainy season; ghana-śyāmam—densely cloudy; sarva—all; saundarya—beauty; saṅgraham—collection; cāru—beautiful; āyata—bodily feature; catuḥ-bāhu—unto the four-armed; su-jāta—ultimately beautiful; rucira—very pleasing; ānanam—face; padma-kośa—the whorl of the lotus flower; palāśa—petals; akṣam—eyes; sundara—beautiful; bhru—eyebrows; su-nāsikam—raised nose; su-dvijam—beautiful teeth; su-kapola—beautiful forehead; āsyam—face; sama-karṇa—equally beautiful ears; vibhūṣaṇam—fully decorated. TRANSLATION The Lord’s beauty resembles a dark cloud during the rainy season. As the rainfall glistens, His bodily features also glisten. Indeed, He is the sum total of all beauty. The Lord has four arms and an exquisitely beautiful face with eyes like lotus petals, a beautiful highly raised nose, a mind-attracting smile, a beautiful forehead and equally beautiful and fully decorated ears. PURPORT After the scorching heat of the summer season, it is very pleasing to see dark clouds in the sky. As confirmed in Brahma-saṁhitā: barhāvataṁsam asitāmbuda-sundarāṅgam. The Lord wears a peacock feather in His hair, and His bodily complexion is just like a blackish cloud. The word sundara, or snigdha, means “very pleasing.” Kandarpa-koṭi-kamanīya. Kṛṣṇa’s beauty is so pleasing that not even millions upon millions of Cupids can compare to it. The Lord’s form as Viṣṇu is decorated in all opulence; therefore Lord Śiva is trying to see that most opulent form of Nārāyaṇa, or Viṣṇu. Generally the worship of the Lord begins with the worship of Nārāyaṇa, or Viṣṇu, whereas the worship of Lord Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā is most confidential. Lord Nārāyaṇa is worshipable by the pāñcarātrika-vidhi, or regulative principles, whereas Lord Kṛṣṇa is worshipable by the bhāgavata-vidhi. No one can worship the Lord in the bhāgavata-vidhi without going through the regulations of the pāñcarātrika-vidhi. Actually, neophyte devotees worship the Lord according to the pāñcarātrika-vidhi, or the regulative principles enjoined in the Nārada-pañcarātra. Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa cannot be approached by the neophyte devotees; therefore temple worship according to regulative principles is offered to Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa. Although there may be a Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa vigraha, or form, the worship of the neophyte devotees is acceptable as Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa worship. Worship according to the pāñcarātrika-vidhi is called vidhi-mārga, and worship according to the bhāgavata-vidhi principles is called rāga-mārga. The principles of rāga-mārga are especially meant for devotees who are elevated to the Vṛndāvana platform. The inhabitants of Vṛndāvana—the gopīs, mother Yaśodā, Nanda Mahārāja, the cowherd boys, the cows and everyone else—are actually on the rāga-mārga or bhāgavata-mārga platform. They participate in five basic rasas—dāsya, sakhya, vātsalya, mādhurya and śānta. But although these five rasas are found in the bhāgavata-mārga, the bhāgavata-mārga is especially meant for vātsalya and mādhurya, or paternal and conjugal relationships. Yet there is the vipralambha-sakhya, the higher fraternal worship of the Lord especially enjoyed by the cowherd boys. Although there is friendship between Kṛṣṇa and the cowherd boys, this friendship is different from the aiśvarya friendship between Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna. When Arjuna saw the viśva-rūpa, the gigantic universal form of the Lord, he was afraid for having treated Kṛṣṇa as an ordinary friend; therefore he begged Kṛṣṇa’s pardon. However, the cowherd boys who are friends of Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana sometimes ride on the shoulders of Kṛṣṇa. They treat Kṛṣṇa equally, just as they treat one another, and they are never afraid of Him, nor do they ever beg His pardon. Thus the rāga-mārga, or bhāgavata-mārga, friendship exists on a higher platform with Kṛṣṇa, namely the platform of vipralambha friendship. Paternal friendship, paternal service and conjugal service are visible in the Vṛndāvana rāga-mārga relationships. Without serving Kṛṣṇa according to the vidhi-mārga regulative principles of the pāñcarātrika-vidhi, unscrupulous persons want to jump immediately to the rāga-mārga principles. Such persons are called sahajiyā. There are also demons who enjoy depicting Kṛṣṇa and His pastimes with the gopīs, taking advantage of Kṛṣṇa by their licentious character. These demons who print books and write lyrics on the rāga-mārga principles are surely on the way to hell. Unfortunately, they lead others down with them. Devotees in Kṛṣṇa consciousness should be very careful to avoid such demons. One should strictly follow the vidhi-mārga regulative principles in the worship of Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa, although the Lord is present in the temple as Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa includes Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa; therefore when one worships the Lord according to the regulative principles, the Lord accepts the service in the role of Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa. In The Nectar of Devotion full instructions are given about the vidhi-mārga worship of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, or Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa. Although there are sixty-four kinds of offenses one can commit in vidhi-mārga worship, in rāga-mārga worship there is no consideration of such offenses because the devotees on that platform are very much elevated, and there is no question of offense. But if we do not follow the regulative principles on the vidhi-mārga platform and keep our eyes trained to spot offenses, we will not make progress. In his description of Kṛṣṇa’s beauty, Lord Śiva uses the words cārvāyata-catur-bāhu sujāta-rucirānanam, indicating the beautiful four-armed form of Nārāyaṇa, or Viṣṇu. Those who worship Lord Kṛṣṇa describe Him as sujāta-rucirānanam. In the viṣṇu-tattva there are hundreds and thousands and millions of forms of the Supreme Lord, but of all these forms, the form of Kṛṣṇa is the most beautiful. Thus for those who worship Kṛṣṇa, the word sujāta-rucirānanam is used. The four arms of Lord Viṣṇu have different purposes. The hands holding a lotus flower and conchshell are meant for the devotees, whereas the other two hands, holding a disc and mace, or club, are meant for the demons. Actually all of the Lord’s arms are auspicious, whether they are holding conchshells and flowers or clubs and discs. The demons killed by Lord Viṣṇu’s cakra disc and club are elevated to the spiritual world, just like the devotees who are protected by the hands holding the lotus flower and conchshell. However, the demons who are elevated to the spiritual world are situated in the impersonal Brahman effulgence, whereas the devotees are allowed to enter into the Vaikuṇṭha planets. Those who are devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa are immediately elevated to the Goloka Vṛndāvana planet. The Lord’s beauty is compared to rainfall because when the rain falls in the rainy season, it becomes more and more pleasing to the people. After the scorching heat of the summer season, the people enjoy the rainy season very much. Indeed, they even come out of their doors in the villages and enjoy the rainfall directly. Thus the Lord’s bodily features are compared to the clouds of the rainy season. The devotees enjoy the Lord’s beauty because it is a collection of all kinds of beauties. Therefore the word sarva-saundarya-saṅgraham is used. No one can say that the body of the Lord is wanting in beautiful parts. It is completely pūrṇam. Everything is complete: God’s creation, God’s beauty and God’s bodily features. All these are so complete that all one’s desires can become fully satisfied when one sees the beauty of the Lord. The word sarva-saundarya indicates that there are different types of beauties in the material and spiritual worlds and that the Lord contains all of them. Both materialists and spiritualists can enjoy the beauty of the Lord. Because the Supreme Lord attracts everyone, including demons and devotees, materialists and spiritualists, He is called Kṛṣṇa. Similarly, His devotees also attract everyone. As mentioned in the Sad-gosvāmī-stotra: dhīrādhīra-jana-priyau—the Gosvāmīs are equally dear to the dhīra (devotees) and adhīra (demons). Lord Kṛṣṇa was not very pleasing to the demons when He was present in Vṛndāvana, but the six Gosvāmīs were pleasing to the demons when they were present in Vṛndāvana. That is the beauty of the Lord’s dealings with His devotees; sometimes the Lord gives more credit to His devotees than He takes for Himself. For instance, on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra, Lord Kṛṣṇa fought simply by giving directions. Yet it was Arjuna who took the credit for fighting. Nimitta-mātraṁ bhava savyasācin: “You, O Savyasācī [Arjuna], can be but an instrument in the fight.” (Bg. 11.33) Everything was arranged by the Lord, but the credit of victory was given to Arjuna. Similarly, in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, everything is happening according to the predictions of Lord Caitanya, but the credit goes to Lord Caitanya’s sincere servants. Thus the Lord is described herein as sarva-saundarya-saṅgraham. |
TEXT 51 XYaaMaé[ae<YaiDaraeicZ<audukU-l/Sv<aRMae%l/Ma( ) SaMacavRx(ig]aJaºaeåiNaManJaaNauSaudXaRNaMa( )) 51 )) śyāma-śroṇy-adhi-rociṣṇu- dukūla-svarṇa-mekhalam sama-cārv-aṅghri-jaṅghoru- nimna-jānu-sudarśanam SYNONYMS śyāma—blackish; śroṇi—lower part of the waist; adhi—extra; rociṣṇu—pleasing; dukūla—garments; svarṇa—golden; mekhalam—belt; sama—symmetrical; cāru—beautiful; aṅghri—lotus feet; jaṅgha—calves; ūru—thighs; nimna—lower; jānu—knees; su-darśanam—very beautiful. TRANSLATION The lower part of the Lord’s waist is dark and covered with yellow garments and a belt bedecked with golden embroidery work. His symmetrical lotus feet and the calves, thighs and joints of His legs are extraordinarily beautiful. Indeed, the Lord’s entire body appears to be well built. PURPORT Lord Śiva is one of the twelve great authorities mentioned in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (6.3.20). These authorities are Svayambhū, Nārada, Śambhu, Kumāra, Kapila, Manu, Prahlāda, Janaka, Bhīṣma, Bali, Vaiyāsaki, or Śukadeva Gosvāmī, and Yamarāja. The impersonalists, who generally worship Lord Śiva, should learn of the transcendental sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha [Bs. 5.1] of the Lord. Here Lord Śiva kindly describes the details of the Lord’s bodily features. Thus the impersonalists’ argument that the Lord has no form cannot be accepted under any circumstance. |
Pada XarTPaÚPal/aXaraeicza Na%Ûui>aNaaeR_NTarga& ivDauNvTaa ) Pa[dXaRYa SvqYaMaPaaSTaSaaßSa& Pad& Gaurae MaaGaRGauåSTaMaaeJauzaMa( )) 52 )) padā śarat-padma-palāśa-rociṣā nakha-dyubhir no ’ntar-aghaṁ vidhunvatā pradarśaya svīyam apāsta-sādhvasaṁ padaṁ guro mārga-gurus tamo-juṣām SYNONYMS padā—by the lotus feet; śarat—autumn; padma—lotus flower; palāśa—petals; rociṣā—very pleasing; nakha—nails; dyubhiḥ—by the effulgence; naḥ—our; antaḥ-agham—dirty things; vidhunvatā—which can cleanse; pradarśaya—just show; svīyam—Your own; apāsta—diminishing; sādhvasam—the trouble of the material world; padam—lotus feet; guro—O supreme spiritual master; mārga—the path; guruḥ—spiritual master; tamaḥ-juṣām—of the persons suffering in ignorance. TRANSLATION My dear Lord, Your two lotus feet are so beautiful that they appear like two blossoming petals of the lotus flower which grows during the autumn season. Indeed, the nails of Your lotus feet emanate such a great effulgence that they immediately dissipate all the darkness in the heart of a conditioned soul. My dear Lord, kindly show me that form of Yours which always dissipates all kinds of darkness in the heart of a devotee. My dear Lord, You are the supreme spiritual master of everyone; therefore all conditioned souls covered with the darkness of ignorance can be enlightened by You as the spiritual master. PURPORT Lord Śiva has thus described the bodily features of the Lord authoritatively. Now he wants to see the lotus feet of the Lord. When a devotee wants to see the transcendental form of the Lord, he begins his meditation on the Lord’s body by first looking at the feet of the Lord. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is considered to be the transcendental sound form of the Lord, and the twelve cantos are divided in accordance with the transcendental form of the Lord. The First and Second Cantos of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam are called the two lotus feet of the Lord. It is therefore suggested by Lord Śiva that one should first try to see the lotus feet of the Lord. This also means that if one is serious about reading Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, he must begin by seriously studying the First and Second Cantos. The beauty of the lotus feet of the Lord is compared to the petals of a lotus flower which grows in the autumn season. By nature’s law, in autumn the dirty or muddy waters of rivers and lakes become very clean. At that time the lotus flowers growing in the lakes appear very bright and beautiful. The lotus flower itself is compared to the lotus feet of the Lord, and the petals are compared to the nails of the feet of the Lord. The nails of the feet of the Lord are very bright, as Brahma-saṁhitā testifies. Ānanda-cinmaya-sad-ujjvala-vigrahasya: [Bs 5.32] every limb of the transcendental body of the Lord is made of ānanda-cinmaya-sad-ujjvala. Thus every limb is eternally bright. As sunshine dissipates the darkness of this material world, the effulgence emanating from the body of the Lord immediately dries up the darkness in the heart of the conditioned soul. In other words, everyone serious about understanding the transcendental science and seeing the transcendental form of the Lord must first of all attempt to see the lotus feet of the Lord by studying the First and Second Cantos of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. When one sees the lotus feet of the Lord, all kinds of doubts and fears within the heart are vanquished. In Bhagavad-gītā it is said that in order to make spiritual progress, one must become fearless. Abhayaṁ sattva-saṁśuddhiḥ (Bg. 16.1). Fearfulness is the result of material involvement. It is also said in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.2.37), bhayaṁ dvitīyābhiniveśataḥ syāt: fearfulness is a creation of the bodily conception of life. As long as one is absorbed in the thought that he is this material body, he is fearful, and as soon as one is freed from this material conception, he becomes brahma-bhūta, or self-realized, and immediately becomes fearless. Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā (Bg. 18.54). Without being fearless, one cannot be joyful. The bhaktas, the devotees, are fearless and always joyful because they are constantly engaged in the service of the lotus feet of the Lord. It is also said: evaṁ prasanna-manaso bhagavad-bhakti-yogataḥ bhagavat-tattva-vijñānaṁ mukta-saṅgasya jāyate (Bhāg. 1.2.20) By practicing bhagavad-bhakti-yoga, one becomes fearless and joyful. Unless one becomes fearless and joyful, he cannot understand the science of God. Bhagavat-tattva-vijñānaṁ mukta-saṅgasya jāyate. This verse refers to those who are completely liberated from the fearfulness of this material world. When one is so liberated, he can really understand the transcendental features of the form of the Lord. Lord Śiva therefore advises everyone to practice bhagavad-bhakti-yoga. As will be clear in the following verses, by doing so one can become really liberated and enjoy spiritual bliss. It is also stated: oṁ ajñāna-timirāndhasya jñānāñjana-śalākayā cakṣur unmīlitaṁ yena tasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ The Lord is the supreme spiritual master, and the bona fide representative of the Supreme Lord is also a spiritual master. The Lord from within enlightens the devotees by the effulgence of the nails of His lotus feet, and His representative, the spiritual master, enlightens from without. Only by thinking of the lotus feet of the Lord and always taking the spiritual master’s advice can one advance in spiritual life and understand Vedic knowledge. yasya deve parā bhaktir yathā deve tathā gurau tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ prakāśante mahātmanaḥ [ŚU yathā deve tathā gurau tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ prakāśante mahātmanaḥ “Unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master, all the imports of Vedic knowledge are automatically revealed.” (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.23) ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ “No one can understand Kṛṣṇa as He is by the blunt material senses. But He reveals Himself to the devotees, being pleased with them for their transcendental loving service unto Him.” (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.234) bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ tato māṁ tattvato jñātvā viśate tad-anantaram “One can understand the Supreme Personality as He is only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of the Supreme Lord by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God.” (Bg. 18.55) These are Vedic instructions. One must have full faith in the words of the spiritual master and similar faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then the real knowledge of ātmā and Paramātmā and the distinction between matter and spirit will be automatically revealed. This ātma-tattva, or spiritual knowledge, will be revealed within the core of a devotee’s heart because of his having taken shelter of the lotus feet of a mahājana such as Prahlāda Mahārāja. Thus the Vedas (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.23) enjoin that for one who has unflinching faith in the lotus feet of the Lord, as well as in the spiritual master, the real import of Vedic knowledge can be revealed. |
>avaNa( >ai¢-MaTaa l/>Yaae dulR=>a" SavRdeihNaaMa( ) SvaraJYaSYaaPYai>aMaTa Wk-aNTaeNaaTMaivÓiTa" )) 54 )) bhavān bhaktimatā labhyo durlabhaḥ sarva-dehinām svārājyasyāpy abhimata ekāntenātma-vid-gatiḥ SYNONYMS bhavān—Your Grace; bhakti-matā—by the devotee; labhyaḥ—obtainable; durlabhaḥ—very difficult to be obtained; sarva-dehinām—of all other living entities; svārājyasya—of the King of heaven; api—even; abhimataḥ—the ultimate goal; ekāntena—by oneness; ātma-vit—of the self-realized; gatiḥ—the ultimate destination. TRANSLATION My dear Lord, the king in charge of the heavenly kingdom is also desirous of obtaining the ultimate goal of life—devotional service. Similarly, You are the ultimate destination of those who identify themselves with You []. However, it is very difficult for them to attain You, whereas a devotee can very easily attain Your Lordship. PURPORT As stated in Brahma-saṁhitā: vedeṣu durlabham adurlabham ātma-bhaktauvedeṣu durlabham adurlabham ātma-bhaktau [Bs. 5.33]. This indicates that it is very difficult for one to attain the ultimate goal of life and reach the supreme destination, Vaikuṇṭhaloka or Goloka Vṛndāvana, simply by studying Vedānta philosophy or Vedic literature. However, this highest perfectional stage can be attained by the devotees very easily. That is the meaning of vedeṣu durlabham adurlabham ātma-bhaktau [Bs. 5.33]. The same point is confirmed by Lord Śiva in this verse. The Lord is very difficult for the karma-yogīs, jñāna-yogīs and dhyāna-yogīs to attain. Those who are bhakti-yogīs, however, have no difficulty at all. In the word svārājyasya, svar refers to Svargaloka, the heavenly planet, and svārājya refers to the ruler of the heavenly planet, Indra. Generally, karmīs desire elevation to heavenly planets, but King Indra desires to become perfect in bhakti-yoga. Those who identify themselves as (“I am the Supreme Brahman, one with the Absolute Truth”) also ultimately desire to attain perfect liberation in the Vaikuṇṭha planets or Goloka Vṛndāvana. In Bhagavad-gītā (18.55) it is said: bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ tato māṁ tattvato jñātvā viśate tad-anantaram “One can understand the Supreme Personality as He is only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of the Supreme Lord by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God.” Thus if one desires to enter into the spiritual world, he must try to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead by practicing bhakti-yoga. Simply by practicing bhakti-yoga one can understand the Supreme Lord in truth, but without such understanding, one cannot enter the spiritual kingdom. One may be elevated to the heavenly planets or may realize himself as Brahman (), but that is not the end of realization. One must realize the position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead by bhakti-yoga; then real perfection of life is attained. |
Ya}a iNaivRíMar<a& k*-TaaNTaae Naai>aMaNYaTae ) ivì& ivß&SaYaNa( vqYaRXaaEYaRivSfU-iJaRTa>a]uva )) 56 )) yatra nirviṣṭam araṇaṁ kṛtānto nābhimanyate viśvaṁ vidhvaṁsayan vīrya- śaurya-visphūrjita-bhruvā SYNONYMS yatra—wherein; nirviṣṭam araṇam—a completely surrendered soul; kṛta-antaḥ—invincible time; na abhimanyate—does not go to attack; viśvam—the entire universe; vidhvaṁsayan—by vanquishing; vīrya—prowess; śaurya—influence; visphūrjita—simply by expansion; bhruvā—of the eyebrows. TRANSLATION Simply by expansion of His eyebrows, invincible time personified can immediately vanquish the entire universe. However, formidable time does not approach the devotee who has taken complete shelter at Your lotus feet. PURPORT In Bhagavad-gītā (10.34) it is said that the Lord in the shape and form of death destroys all a person’s possessions. Mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraś cāham: “I am all-devouring death.” The Lord in the shape of death takes away everything that is created by the conditioned soul. Everything in this material world is subject to perish in due course of time. However, all the strength of time cannot hamper the activities of a devotee, for a devotee takes complete shelter under the lotus feet of the Lord. For this reason only is a devotee free from formidable time. All the activities of the karmīs and jñānīs, which have no touch of devotional service, are spoiled in due course of time. The material success of the karmīs is destined to be destroyed; similarly, the impersonal realization attained by the jñānīs is also destroyed in the course of time. āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adho ’nādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ (Bhāg. 10.2.32) To say nothing of the karmīs, the jñānīs undergo severe austerities to attain the impersonal brahmajyoti, but because they do not find the lotus feet of the Lord, they fall down again into this material existence. Unless one is fully situated in unalloyed devotional service, there is no guarantee of liberation, even if one is elevated to the heavenly planets or to the impersonal Brahman effulgence. A devotee’s achievement, however, is never lost by the influence of time. Even if a devotee cannot completely execute devotional service, in his next life he begins from the point where he left off. Such an opportunity is not given to the karmīs and jñānīs, whose achievements are destroyed. The bhakta’s achievement is never destroyed, for it goes on perpetually, be it complete or incomplete. This is the verdict of all Vedic literatures. Śucīnāṁ śrīmatāṁ gehe yoga-bhraṣṭo’bhijāyate. If one is unable to complete the process of bhakti-yoga, he is given a chance in his next life to take birth in a pure family of devotees or in a rich family. In such families a person can have a good opportunity to further progress in devotional service. When Yamarāja, the superintendent of death, was instructing his assistants, he told them not to approach the devotees. “The devotees should be offered respect,” he said, “but do not go near them.” Thus the devotees of the Lord are not under the jurisdiction of Yamarāja. Yamarāja is a representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and he controls the death of every living entity. Yet he has nothing to do with the devotees. Simply by blinking his eyes, time personified can destroy the entire cosmic manifestation, but he has nothing to do with the devotee. In other words, devotional service which is rendered by the devotee in this lifetime can never be destroyed by time. Such spiritual assets remain unchanged, being beyond the influence of time. |
TEXT 57 +a<aaDaeRNaaiPa Taul/Yae Na SvGa| NaaPauNa>aRvMa( ) >aGavTSai(r)Sa(r)SYa MaTYaaRNaa& ik-MauTaaiXaz" )) 57 )) kṣaṇārdhenāpi tulaye na svargaṁ nāpunar-bhavam bhagavat-saṅgi-saṅgasya martyānāṁ kim utāśiṣaḥ SYNONYMS kṣaṇa-ardhena—by half a moment; api—even; tulaye—compare; na—never; svargam—heavenly planets; na—neither; apunaḥ-bhavam—merging into the Supreme; bhagavat—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; saṅgi—associate; saṅgasya—one who takes advantage of associating; martyānām—of the conditioned soul; kim uta—what is there; āśiṣaḥ—blessings. TRANSLATION If one by chance associates with a devotee, even for a fraction of a moment, he no longer is subject to attraction by the results of karma or jñāna. What interest then can he have in the benedictions of the demigods, who are subject to the laws of birth and death? PURPORT Out of three kinds of men—the karmīs, jñānīs and bhaktas—the bhakta is described herein as the most exalted. Śrīla Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī has sung: kaivalyaṁ narakāyate tridaśa-pūr ākāśa-puṣpāyate (Caitanya-candrāmṛta). The word kaivalya means to merge into the effulgence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the word tridaśa-pūr refers to the heavenly planets where the demigods live. Thus for a devotee, kaivalya-sukha, or merging into the existence of the Lord, is hellish because the bhakta considers it suicidal to lose his individuality and merge into the effulgence of Brahman. A bhakta always wants to retain his individuality in order to render service to the Lord. Indeed, he considers promotion to the upper planetary systems to be no better than a will-o’-the-wisp. Temporary, material happiness holds no value for a devotee. The devotee is in such an exalted position that he is not interested in the actions of karma or jñāna. The resultant actions of karma and jñāna are so insignificant to a devotee situated on the transcendental platform that he is not in the least interested in them. Bhakti-yoga is sufficient to give the bhakta all happiness. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.6): yayātmā suprasīdati. One can be fully satisfied simply by devotional service, and that is the result of association with a devotee. Without being blessed by a pure devotee, no one can be fully satisfied, nor can anyone understand the transcendental position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. |
TEXT 59 Na YaSYa icta& bihrQaRiv>a]Ma& TaMaaeGauhaYaa& c ivéuÖMaaivXaTa( ) YaÙi¢-YaaeGaaNauGa*hqTaMaÅSaa MauiNaivRcíe NaNau Ta}a Tae GaiTaMa( )) 59 )) na yasya cittaṁ bahir-artha-vibhramaṁ tamo-guhāyāṁ ca viśuddham āviśat yad-bhakti-yogānugṛhītam añjasā munir vicaṣṭe nanu tatra te gatim SYNONYMS na—never; yasya—whose; cittam—heart; bahiḥ—external; artha—interest; vibhramam—bewildered; tamaḥ—darkness; guhāyām—in the hole; ca—also; viśuddham—purified; āviśat—entered; yat—that; bhakti-yoga—devotional service; anugṛhītam—being favored by; añjasā—happily; muniḥ—the thoughtful; vicaṣṭe—sees; nanu—however; tatra—there; te—Your; gatim—activities. TRANSLATION The devotee whose heart has been completely cleansed by the process of devotional service and who is favored by Bhaktidevī does not become bewildered by the external energy, which is just like a dark well. Being completely cleansed of all material contamination in this way, a devotee is able to understand very happily Your name, fame, form, activities, etc. PURPORT As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.25.25): satāṁ prasaṅgān mama vīrya-saṁvido bhavanti hṛt-karṇa-rasāyanāḥ kathāḥ taj-joṣaṇād āśv apavarga-vartmani śraddhā ratir bhaktir anukramiṣyati Simply by the association of pure devotees one can understand the transcendental name, fame, quality and activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has repeatedly said: ’sādhu-saṅga’, ’sādhu-saṅga’——sarva-śāstre kaya lava-mātra sādhu-saṅge sarva-siddhi haya (Cc. Madhya 22.54) Simply by associating with a pure devotee, one becomes wonderfully advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Sādhu-saṅga, or association with a devotee, means always engaging in Kṛṣṇa consciousness by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and by acting for Kṛṣṇa. Specifically, chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra purifies one, and this chanting is therefore recommended by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam: [Cc. Antya 20.12] by chanting the names of Kṛṣṇa, the mirror of the heart is cleansed, and the devotee loses interest in everything external. When one is influenced by the external energy of the Lord, his heart is impure. When one’s heart is not pure, he cannot see how things are related to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Idaṁ hi viśvaṁ bhagavān ivetaraḥ (Bhāg. 1.5.20). He whose heart is purified can see that the whole cosmic manifestation is but the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but he whose heart is contaminated sees things differently. Therefore by sat-saṅga, or association with devotees, one becomes perfectly pure in heart. One who is pure in heart is never attracted by the external energy, which urges the individual soul to try to dominate material nature. The pure heart of a devotee is never disturbed when he executes devotional service in the form of hearing, chanting, remembering, etc. In all, there are nine processes one can follow in the execution of devotional service. In any case, a pure-hearted devotee is never disturbed. The bhakti-yoga process must be carried out by avoiding the ten offenses one can commit while chanting the mahā-mantra and the sixty-four offenses one can commit while worshiping the Deity. When a devotee strictly follows the rules and regulations, Bhaktidevī becomes very much satisfied with him, and at that time he is never disturbed by anything external. A devotee is also called a muni. The word muni means “thoughtful.” A devotee is as thoughtful as a nondevotee is speculative. The nondevotee’s speculation is impure, but a devotee’s thoughts are pure. Lord Kapila and Śukadeva Gosvāmī are also called muni, and Vyāsadeva is addressed as Mahāmuni. A devotee is addressed as muni, or thoughtful, when he purely understands the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The conclusion is that when one’s heart is purified by the association of devotees and by the avoidance of the offenses committed when chanting and worshiping the Lord, the transcendental name, form and activities of the Lord are revealed by the Lord. |
Ya}aed& VYaJYaTae ivì& ivìiSMaàv>aaiTa YaTa( ) TaTa( Tv& b]ø Par& JYaaeiTarak-aXaiMav ivSTa*TaMa( )) 60 )) yatredaṁ vyajyate viśvaṁ viśvasminn avabhāti yat tat tvaṁ brahma paraṁ jyotir ākāśam iva vistṛtam SYNONYMS yatra—where; idam—this; vyajyate—manifested; viśvam—the universe; viśvasmin—in the cosmic manifestation; avabhāti—is manifested; yat—that; tat—that; tvam—You; brahma—the impersonal Brahman; param—transcendental; jyotiḥ—effulgence; ākāśam—sky; iva—like; vistṛtam—spread. TRANSLATION My dear Lord, the impersonal Brahman spreads everywhere, like the sunshine or the sky. And that impersonal Brahman, which spreads throughout the universe and in which the entire universe is manifested, is You. PURPORT In Vedic literature it is said that everything is Brahman and nothing else. The whole cosmic manifestation rests on the Brahman effulgence. The impersonalists, however, cannot understand how such a huge cosmic manifestation can rest on a person. Thus this inconceivable power of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is not understood by the impersonalists; therefore they are puzzled and always denying that the Absolute Truth is a person. This wrong impression is cleared by Lord Śiva himself, who says that the impersonal Brahman, which is spread all over the universe, is nothing but the Supreme Lord Himself. Here it is clearly said that the Lord is spread everywhere, just like the sunshine, by virtue of His Brahman feature. This example is very easy to understand. All the planetary systems are resting upon the sunshine, yet the sunshine and the source of sunshine are aloof from the planetary manifestations. Similarly, the sky or air is spread everywhere; air is within a pot, but it also touches filthy places and sanctified places alike. In any case, the sky is uncontaminated. The sunshine also touches filthy places and sanctified places, and both are actually produced by the sun, but in any case the sun is aloof from all filthy things. Similarly, the Lord exists everywhere. There are pious things and impious things, but in the śāstras the pious things are described as the front of the Supreme Lord, whereas impious things are described as the back of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In Bhagavad-gītā (9.4) the Lord clearly says: mayā tatam idaṁ sarvaṁ jagad avyakta-mūrtinā mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni na cāhaṁ teṣv avasthitaḥ “By Me, in My unmanifested form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in them.” This verse of Bhagavad-gītā explains that the Lord is spread everywhere by virtue of His Brahman feature. Everything rests in Him, yet He is not there. The conclusion is that without bhakti-yoga, without rendering devotional service to the Lord, even an impersonalist cannot understand the brahma-tattva, the Brahman feature. In the Vedānta-sūtra it is stated: athāto brahma jijñāsā. This means that Brahman, Paramātmā or Parabrahman should be understood. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam also the Absolute Truth is described as the one without a second, but He is realized in three features—impersonal Brahman, localized Paramātmā and the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the ultimate issue, and in this verse Lord Śiva confirms that ultimately the Absolute Truth is a person. He clearly says: tat tvaṁ brahma paraṁ jyotir ākāśam iva vistṛtam. Here is a common example: a successful businessman may have many factories and offices, and everything rests on his order. If someone says that the entire business rests on such-and-such a person, it does not mean that the person is bearing all the factories and offices on his head. Rather, it is understood that by his brain or his energetic expansion, the business is running without interruption. Similarly, it is the brain and energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead that carry on the complete manifestation of the material and spiritual worlds. The philosophy of monism, explained here very clearly, adjusts itself to the fact that the supreme source of all energy is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. This is described very clearly. It is also stated how the impersonal feature of Kṛṣṇa can be understood: raso ’ham apsu kaunteya prabhāsmi śaśi-sūryayoḥ praṇavaḥ sarva-vedeṣu śabdaḥ khe pauruṣaṁ nṛṣu “O son of Kuntī [Arjuna], I am the taste of water, the light of the sun and moon, the syllable oṁ in the Vedic mantras; I am the sound in ether and ability in man.” (Bg. 7.8) In this way Kṛṣṇa can be understood as the mystic power in everything. |
i§-Yaak-l/aPaEirdMaev YaaeiGaNa" é[ÖaiNvTaa" SaaDau YaJaiNTa iSaÖYae ) >aUTaeiNd]YaaNTa"k-r<aaePal/i+aTa& vede c TaN}ae c Ta Wv k-aeivda" )) 62 )) kriyā-kalāpair idam eva yoginaḥ śraddhānvitāḥ sādhu yajanti siddhaye bhūtendriyāntaḥ-karaṇopalakṣitaṁ vede ca tantre ca ta eva kovidāḥ SYNONYMS kriyā—activities; kalāpaiḥ—by processes; idam—this; eva—certainly; yoginaḥ—transcendentalists; śraddhā-anvitāḥ—with faith and conviction; sādhu—properly; yajanti—worship; siddhaye—for perfection; bhūta—the material energy; indriya—senses; antaḥ-karaṇa—heart; upalakṣitam—symptomized by; vede—in the Vedas; ca—also; tantre—in the corollaries of the Vedas; ca—also; te—Your Lordship; eva—certainly; kovidāḥ—those who are experts. TRANSLATION My dear Lord, Your universal form consists of all five elements, the senses, mind, intelligence, false ego (which is material) and the Paramātmā, Your partial expansion, who is the director of everything. Yogis other than the devotees—namely the karma-yogī and jñāna-yogī—worship You by their respective actions in their respective positions. It is stated both in the Vedas and in the śāstras that are corollaries of the Vedas, and indeed everywhere, that it is only You who are to be worshiped. That is the expert version of all the Vedas. PURPORT In a previous verse Lord Śiva wanted to see the form of the Lord which the devotees are always interested in. There are other forms of the Lord manifest in the material world, including Brahmā and other demigods, and these are worshiped by materialistic persons. In the Second Canto, Third Chapter, of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, it is stated that those who desire material benefits are recommended to worship different types of demigods, and in conclusion the Bhāgavatam recommends: akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā mokṣa-kāma udāra-dhīḥ tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena yajeta puruṣaṁ param (Bhāg. 2.3.10) The devotees, the jñānīs, who are known as mokṣa-kāma, and the karmīs, who are known as sarva-kāma, are all aspiring to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu. Even when one performs yajñas, as stated here (kriyā-kalāpaiḥ), he should always remember that the demigods are but agents of the Supreme Lord. Actually the worshipful Lord is Viṣṇu, Yajñeśvara. Thus even when different demigods are worshiped in the Vedic and Tantric sacrifices, the actual goal of sacrifice is Lord Viṣṇu. Therefore in Bhagavad-gītā (9.23) it is said: ye ’py anya-devatā-bhaktā yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ te ’pi mām eva kaunteya yajanty avidhi-pūrvakam “Whatever a man may sacrifice to other gods, O son of Kuntī, is really meant for Me alone, but is offered without true understanding.” Thus the worshipers of various demigods also worship the Supreme Lord, but they do so against the regulative principles. The purpose of the regulative principles is to satisfy Lord Viṣṇu. In the Viṣṇu Purāṇa (3.8.9) the very same thing is confirmed: varṇāśramācāravatā puruṣeṇa paraḥ pumān viṣṇur ārādhyate panthā nānyat tat-toṣa-kāraṇam Here it is clearly mentioned that the karmī, jñānī or yogī—in fact, everyone—worships Lord Viṣṇu if he is actually expert in knowledge of the Vedas and Tantras. The word kovidāḥ is very significant, for it indicates the devotees of the Lord. Only the devotees know perfectly that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, is all-pervading. Within the material energy, He is represented by the five material elements as well as the mind, intelligence and ego. He is also represented by another energy—the living entities—and all these manifestations in the spiritual and material world combined are but representations of the different energies of the Lord. The conclusion is that the Lord is one and that He is expanded in everything. This is understood by the Vedic version: sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma. One who knows this concentrates all his energy in worshiping Lord Viṣṇu. |
TEXT 63 TvMaek- AaÛ" Pauåz" SauáXai¢-‚ STaYaa rJa"SatvTaMaae ivi>aÛTae ) MahaNah& %& MaådiGanvaDaRra" SaurzRYaae >aUTaGa<aa wd& YaTa" )) 63 )) tvam eka ādyaḥ puruṣaḥ supta-śaktis tayā rajaḥ-sattva-tamo vibhidyate mahān ahaṁ khaṁ marud agni-vār-dharāḥ surarṣayo bhūta-gaṇā idaṁ yataḥ SYNONYMS tvam—Your Lordship; ekaḥ—one; ādyaḥ—the original; puruṣaḥ—person; supta—dormant; śaktiḥ—energy; tayā—by which; rajaḥ—the passion energy; sattva—goodness; tamaḥ—ignorance; vibhidyate—is diversified; mahān—the total material energy; aham—egotism; kham—the sky; marut—the air; agni—fire; vāḥ—water; dharāḥ—earth; sura-ṛṣayaḥ—the demigods and the great sages; bhūta-gaṇāḥ—the living entities; idam—all this; yataḥ—from whom. TRANSLATION My dear Lord, You are the only Supreme Person, the cause of all causes. Before the creation of this material world, Your material energy remains in a dormant condition. When Your material energy is agitated, the three qualities—namely goodness, passion and ignorance—act, and as a result the total material energy—egotism, ether, air, fire, water, earth and all the various demigods and saintly persons—becomes manifest. Thus the material world is created. PURPORT If the whole creation is one—that is, nothing but the Supreme Lord, or Viṣṇu—then why do the expert transcendentalists make such categories as are found in the above verse:? Why do learned and expert scholars distinguish between matter and spirit? In answer to these questions, Lord Śiva says that spirit and matter are not creations of various philosophers, but are manifested by Lord Viṣṇu, as described in this verse: tvam eka ādyaḥ puruṣaḥ. Spiritual and material categories are made possible by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but actually there are no such distinctions for the living entities who are eternally engaged in the service of the Lord. There is only a material world for those who want to imitate the Lord and become enjoyers. Indeed, the material world is nothing but forgetfulness of the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, the creator of everything. The distinction between matter and spirit is created by the sleeping energy of the Lord when the Lord wants to give some facility to those living entities who want to imitate the Lord in His enjoyment. It is only for them that this material world is created by the dormant energy of the Lord. For instance, sometimes children want to imitate their mother and cook in the kitchen, and at such a time the mother supplies them with some toys so that the children can imitate her cooking. Similarly, when some of the living entities want to imitate the activities of the Lord, this material cosmic manifestation is created for them by the Lord. The material creation is therefore caused by the Lord through His material energy. It is by the glance of the Lord that the material energy is activated. At that time the three material qualities are set into motion, and the material energy is manifested first in the form of the mahat-tattva, then egotism, then ether, then air, fire, water and earth. After the creation, the living entities are impregnated in the cosmic manifestation, and they emerge as Lord Brahmā and the seven great ṛṣis, then as different demigods. From the demigods come human beings, animals, trees, birds, beasts and everything else. The original cause, however, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as verified herein—tvam eka ādyaḥ puruṣaḥ. This is also confirmed in Brahma-saṁhitā (5.1): īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ anādir ādir govindaḥ sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam Those who are covered by the material energy cannot understand that the origin of everything is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. This is summarized in the Vedānta aphorism janmādy asya yataḥ [SB 1.1.1] (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.2). Kṛṣṇa also confirms this in Bhagavad-gītā (10.8): ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate iti matvā bhajante māṁ budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ “I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who know this perfectly engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.” When Kṛṣṇa says that He is the origin of everything (ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ), He means that He is even the source of Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, the puruṣa-avatāras, the material manifestation and all the living entities within the material world. Actually the word prabhava (“creation”) only refers to this material world, for since the spiritual world is eternally existing, there is no question of creation. In the Catuḥ-ślokī of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the Lord says, aham evāsam evāgre: “I was existing in the beginning before the creation.” (Bhāg. 2.9.33) In the Vedas it is also said, eko nārāyaṇa āsīt: “Before the creation there was only Nārāyaṇa.” This is also confirmed by Śaṅkarācārya. Nārāyaṇaḥ paro ’vyaktāt: “Nārāyaṇa is transcendental to the creation.” (Gīta—bhāṣya) Since all the activities of Nārāyaṇa are spiritual, when Nārāyaṇa said, “Let there be creation,” that creation was all-spiritual. The “material” only exists for those who have forgotten that Nārāyaṇa is the original cause. |
Sa*í& SvXa¢-yedMaNauPa[iví‚ êTauivRDa& PaurMaaTMaa&Xake-Na ) AQaae ivduSTa& Pauåz& SaNTaMaNTa‚ >auR»e ôzqkE-MaRDau Saarga& Ya" )) 64 )) sṛṣṭaṁ sva-śaktyedam anupraviṣṭaś catur-vidhaṁ puram ātmāṁśakena atho vidus taṁ puruṣaṁ santam antar bhuṅkte hṛṣīkair madhu sāra-ghaṁ yaḥ SYNONYMS sṛṣṭam—in the creation; sva-śaktyā—by Your own potency; idam—this cosmic manifestation; anupraviṣṭaḥ—entering afterward; catuḥ-vidham—four kinds of; puram—bodies; ātma-aṁśakena—by Your own part and parcel; atho—therefore; viduḥ—know; tam—him; puruṣam—the enjoyer; santam—existing; antaḥ—within; bhuṅkte—enjoys; hṛṣīkaiḥ—by the senses; madhu—sweetness; sāra-gham—honey; yaḥ—one who. TRANSLATION My dear Lord, after creating by Your own potencies, You enter within the creation in four kinds of forms. Being within the hearts of the living entities, You know them and know how they are enjoying their senses. The so-called happiness of this material creation is exactly like the bees’ enjoyment of honey after it has been collected in the honeycomb. PURPORT The material cosmic manifestation is an exhibition of the external energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but because dull matter cannot work independently, the Lord Himself enters within this material creation in the form of a partial expansion (Paramātmā), and He enters also by His separated parts and parcels (the living entities). In other words, both the living entities and the Supreme Personality of Godhead enter into the material creation just to make it active. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (7.5): apareyam itas tv anyāṁ prakṛtiṁ viddhi me parām jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat “Besides this inferior nature, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is a superior energy of Mine, which consists of all living entities who are struggling with the material nature and are sustaining the universe.” Since the material world cannot work independently, the living entities enter into the material manifestation in four different types of bodies. The word catur-vidham is significant in this verse. There are four types of living entities born within this material world. Some are born by way of an embryo (jarāyu ja), by way of eggs (aṇḍa ja), perspiration (sveda ja) and, like the trees, by way of seeds (udbhijja). Regardless of how these living entities appear, they are all busy in the pursuit of sense enjoyment. The materialistic scientists’ contention that living entities other than human beings have no soul is nullified herein. Whether they are born through an embryo, eggs, perspiration or seeds, all living entities in the 8,400,000 species of life are parts and parcels of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and each therefore is an individual spiritual spark and soul. The Supreme Personality of Godhead also remains within the heart of the living entity, regardless of whether the living entity is a man, animal, tree, germ or microbe. The Lord resides in everyone’s heart, and because all living entities who come to this material world do so in order to fulfill their desire for sense enjoyment, the Lord directs the living entities to enjoy their senses. Thus the Paramātmā, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, knows everyone’s desires. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15): sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca “I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness.” Remaining within the hearts of all living entities, the Lord bestows remembrance by which the living entities can enjoy certain things. Thus the living entities create their enjoyable honeycombs and then enjoy them. The example of the bees is appropriate because when bees try to enjoy their honeycomb, they have to suffer the bites of other bees. Because bees bite one another when they enjoy honey, they are not exclusively enjoying the sweetness of the honey, for there is also suffering. In other words, the living entities are subjected to the pains and pleasures of material enjoyment, whereas the Supreme Personality of Godhead, knowing their plans for sense enjoyment, is aloof from them. In the Upaniṣads the example is given of two birds sitting on a tree. One bird (the jīva, or living entity) is enjoying the fruits of that tree, and the other bird (Paramātmā) is simply witnessing. In the Bhagavad-gītā (13.23) the Supreme Personality of Godhead as Paramātmā is described as upadraṣṭā (the overseer) and anumantā (the permitter). Thus the Lord simply witnesses and gives the living entity sanction for sense enjoyment. It is the Paramātmā also who gives the intelligence by which the bees can construct a hive, collect honey from various flowers, store it and enjoy it. Although the Paramātmā is aloof from the living entities, He knows their intentions, and He gives them facilities by which they can enjoy or suffer the results of their actions. Human society is exactly like a beehive, for everyone is engaged in collecting honey from various flowers, or collecting money from various sources, and creating large empires for common enjoyment. However, after these empires are created, the bites of other nations have to be suffered. Sometimes nations declare war upon one another, and the human beehives become sources of misery. Although human beings are creating their beehives in order to enjoy the sweetness of their senses, they are at the same time suffering from the bites of other persons or nations. The Supreme Personality of Godhead as Paramātmā is simply witnessing all these activities. The conclusion is that both the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the jīvas enter into this material world. However, the Paramātmā, or Supreme Personality of Godhead, is worshipable because He has arranged for the happiness of the living entity in the material world. Because it is the material world, however, no one can enjoy any kind of happiness without inebriety. Material enjoyment means inebriety, whereas spiritual enjoyment means pure enjoyment under the protection of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. |
Sa Wz l/aek-aNaiTac<@veGaae ivk-zRiSa Tv& %lu/ k-al/YaaNa" ) >aUTaaiNa >aUTaErNauMaeYaTatvae gaNaavl/IvaRYauirvaivzù" )) 65 )) sa eṣa lokān aticaṇḍa-vego vikarṣasi tvaṁ khalu kāla-yānaḥ bhūtāni bhūtair anumeya-tattvo ghanāvalīr vāyur ivāviṣahyaḥ SYNONYMS saḥ—that; eṣaḥ—this; lokān—all the planetary systems; ati—very much; caṇḍa-vegaḥ—the great force; vikarṣasi—destroys; tvam—Your Lordship; khalu—however; kāla-yānaḥ—in due course of time; bhūtāni—all living entities; bhūtaiḥ—by other living entities; anumeya-tattvaḥ—the Absolute Truth can be guessed; ghana-āvalīḥ—the clouds; vāyuḥ—air; iva—like; aviṣahyaḥ—unbearable. TRANSLATION My dear Lord, Your absolute authority cannot be directly experienced, but one can guess by seeing the activities of the world that everything is being destroyed in due course of time. The force of time is very strong, and everything is being destroyed by something else—just as one animal is being eaten by another animal. Time scatters everything, exactly as the wind scatters clouds in the sky. PURPORT The process of destruction is going on according to the law of nature. Nothing within this material world can be permanent, although scientists, philosophers, workers and everyone else are trying to make things permanent. One foolish scientist recently declared that eventually life will be made permanent through science. Some so-called scientists are also trying to manufacture living entities within the laboratory. Thus in one way or another everyone is busy denying the existence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and rejecting the supreme authority of the Lord. However, the Lord is so powerful that He destroys everything in the form of death. As Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (10.34), mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraś cāham: “I am all-devouring death.” The Lord is just like death to the atheists, for He takes away everything they accumulate in the material world. Hiraṇyakaśipu, the father of Prahlāda, always denied the existence of the Lord, and he tried to kill his five-year-old boy due to the boy’s unflinching faith in God. However, in due course of time the Lord appeared as Nṛsiṁhadeva and killed Hiraṇyakaśipu in the presence of his son. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.13.47), this killing process is natural. Jīvo jīvasya jīvanam: “one animal is food for another animal.” A frog is eaten by a snake, a snake is eaten by a mongoose, and the mongoose is eaten by another animal. In this way the process of destruction goes on by the supreme will of the Lord. Although we do not see the hand of the Supreme Lord directly, we can feel the presence of that hand through the Lord’s process of destruction. We can see the clouds scattered by the wind, although we cannot see how this is being done because it is not possible to see the wind. Similarly, although we do not directly see the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we can see that He controls the process of destruction. The destructive process is going on fiercely under the control of the Lord, but the atheists cannot see it. |
TEXT 66 Pa[MataMauÀEiriTak*-TYaicNTaYaa Pa[v*Öl/ae>a& ivzYaezu l/al/SaMa( ) TvMaPa[Mata" SahSaai>aPaÛSae +auçeil/haNaae_ihirva%uMaNTak-" )) 66 )) pramattam uccair iti kṛtya-cintayā pravṛddha-lobhaṁ viṣayeṣu lālasam tvam apramattaḥ sahasābhipadyase kṣul-lelihāno ’hir ivākhum antakaḥ SYNONYMS pramattam—persons who are mad; uccaiḥ—loudly; iti—thus; kṛtya—to be done; cintayā—by such desire; pravṛddha—very much advanced; lobham—greed; viṣayeṣu—in material enjoyment; lālasam—so desiring; tvam—Your Lordship; apramattaḥ—completely in transcendence; sahasā—all of a sudden; abhipadyase—seizes them; kṣut—hungry; lelihānaḥ—by the greedy tongue; ahiḥ—snake; iva—like; ākhum—mouse; antakaḥ—destroyer. TRANSLATION My dear Lord, all living entities within this material world are mad after planning for things, and they are always busy with a desire to do this or that. This is due to uncontrollable greed. The greed for material enjoyment is always existing in the living entity, but Your Lordship is always alert, and in due course of time You strike him, just as a snake seizes a mouse and very easily swallows him. PURPORT Everyone is greedy, and everyone makes plans for material enjoyment. In his lust for material enjoyment, the living entity is described as a madman. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (3.27): prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate “The bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three modes of material nature, thinks himself to be the doer of activities which are in actuality carried out by nature.” Everything is enacted by the laws of nature, and these laws are under the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The atheists, or unintelligent men, do not know this. They are busy making their own plans, and big nations are busy expanding their empires. And yet we know that in due course of time many empires have come into existence and been destroyed. Many aristocratic families were created by people in their extreme madness, but we can see that in the course of time those families and empires have all been destroyed. But still the foolish atheists do not accept the supreme authority of the Lord. Such foolish people unnecessarily concoct their own duties without referring to the supreme authority of the Lord. The so-called political leaders are busy making plans to advance the material prosperity of their nation, but factually these political leaders only want an exalted position for themselves. Due to their greed for material position, they falsely present themselves as leaders before the people and collect their votes, although they are completely under the grip of the laws of material nature. These are some of the faults of modern civilization. Without taking to God consciousness and accepting the authority of the Lord, the living entities become ultimately confused and frustrated in their planmaking attempts. Due to their unauthorized plans for economic development, the price of commodities is rising daily all over the world, so much so that is has become difficult for the poorer classes, and they are suffering the consequences. And due to lack of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, people are being fooled by so-called leaders and planmakers. Consequently, the sufferings of the people are increasing. According to the laws of nature, which are backed by the Lord, nothing can be permanent within this material world; therefore everyone should be allowed to take shelter of the Absolute in order to be saved. In this regard, Lord Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (5.29): bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati “The sages, knowing Me as the ultimate purpose of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attain peace from the pangs of material miseries.” If one wants peace of mind and tranquillity in society, he must accept the fact that the real enjoyer is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord is the proprietor of everything all over the universe, and He is the supreme friend of all living entities as well. By understanding this, people can become happy and peaceful individually and collectively. |
k-STvTPadaBJa& ivJahaiTa Pai<@Taae YaSTae_vMaaNaVYaYaMaaNake-TaNa" ) ivXaªYaaSMad(GauårcRiTa SMa Yad( ivNaaePaPaita& MaNavêTaudRXa )) 67 )) kas tvat-padābjaṁ vijahāti paṇḍito yas te ’vamāna-vyayamāna-ketanaḥ viśaṅkayāsmad-gurur arcati sma yad vinopapattiṁ manavaś caturdaśa SYNONYMS kaḥ—who; tvat—Your; pada-abjam—lotus feet; vijahāti—avoids; paṇḍitaḥ—learned; yaḥ—who; te—unto You; avamāna—deriding; vyayamāna—decreasing; ketanaḥ—this body; viśaṅkayā—without any doubt; asmat—our; guruḥ—spiritual master, father; arcati—worships; sma—in the past; yat—that; vinā—without; upapattim—agitation; manavaḥ—the Manus; catuḥ-daśa—fourteen. TRANSLATION My dear Lord, any learned person knows that unless he worships You, his entire life is spoiled. Knowing this, how could he give up worshiping Your lotus feet? Even our father and spiritual master, Lord Brahmā, unhesitatingly worshiped You, and the fourteen Manus followed in his footsteps. PURPORT The word paṇḍita means “a wise man.” Who is actually a wise man? The wise man is described in Bhagavad-gītā (7.19) in this way: bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ “After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.” Thus when the wise man actually becomes wise after many births and whimsical attempts at self-realization, he surrenders unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. Such a mahātmā, or learned person, knows that Kṛṣṇa, Vāsudeva, is everything (vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti [Bg. 7.19]). Learned persons always think that life is wasted unless they worship Lord Kṛṣṇa or become His devotee. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī also says that when one becomes an advanced devotee, he understands that he should be reserved and perseverant (kṣāntiḥ) and that he should engage in the service of the Lord and not waste time (avyartha-kālatvam [Cc.Madhya 23.18-19]). He should also be detached from all material attraction (viraktiḥ), and he should not long for any material respect in return for his activities (māna-śūnyatā). He should be certain that Kṛṣṇa will bestow His mercy upon him (āśā-bandhaḥ), and he should always be very eager to serve the Lord faithfully (samutkaṇṭhā). The wise man is always very eager to glorify the Lord by chanting and hearing (nāma-gāne sadā ruciḥ), and he is always eager to describe the transcendental qualities of the Lord (āsaktis tad-guṇākhyāne). He should also be attracted to those places where the Lord had His pastimes (prītis tad-vasati-sthalePrītis tad vasati sthāle). These are symptoms of an advanced devotee. An advanced devotee, or a perfect human being who is actually wise and learned, cannot give up his service at the lotus feet of the Lord. Although Lord Brahmā has a long life-span (4,320,000,000 years constitute twelve hours in a day of Brahmā), Brahmā is afraid of death and consequently engages in the devotional service of the Lord. Similarly, all the Manus who appear and disappear during the day of Brahmā are also engaged in the Lord’s devotional service. In Brahmā’s one day, fourteen Manus appear and disappear. The first Manu is Svāyambhuva Manu. Each Manu lives for seventy-one yugas, each consisting of some 4,320,000 years. Although the Manus have such a long life-span, they still prepare for the next life by engaging in the devotional service of the Lord. In this age human beings only live for sixty or eighty years, and even this small life-span is gradually decreasing. Therefore it is even more imperative for human beings to take to the worship of the lotus feet of the Lord by constantly chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, as recommended by Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. When one is engaged in devotional service, he is often surrounded by envious people, and often many enemies come to try to defeat him or stop him. This is not new in this present age, for even in the days of yore Prahlāda Mahārāja, who was engaged in the devotional service of the Lord, was harassed by his demoniac father, Hiraṇyakaśipu. The atheists are always prepared to harass a devotee; therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu suggested that one be very tolerant of these people. Nonetheless, one has to continue chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and preaching the chanting of this mantra because such preaching and chanting constitute the perfection of life. One should chant and preach about the urgency of making this life perfect in all respects. One should thus engage in the devotional service of the Lord and follow in the footsteps of previous ācāryas, beginning with Lord Brahmā and others. |
TEXT 68 AQa TvMaiSa Naae b]øNa( ParMaaTMaNa( ivPaiêTaaMa( ) ivì& åd]>aYaßSTaMaku-TaiêÙYaa GaiTa" )) 68 )) atha tvam asi no brahman paramātman vipaścitām viśvaṁ rudra-bhaya-dhvastam akutaścid-bhayā gatiḥ SYNONYMS atha—therefore; tvam—You, my Lord; asi—are; naḥ—our; brahman—O Supreme Brahman; parama-ātman—O Supersoul; vipaścitām—for the learned wise men; viśvam—the whole universe; rudra-bhaya—being afraid of Rudra; dhvastam—annihilated; akutaścit-bhayā—undoubtedly fearless; gatiḥ—destination. TRANSLATION My dear Lord, all actually learned persons know You as the Supreme Brahman and the Supersoul. Although the entire universe is afraid of Lord Rudra, who ultimately annihilates everything, for the learned devotees You are the fearless destination of all. PURPORT For the purpose of creation, maintenance and annihilation of this cosmic manifestation, there are three lords—Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva (Maheśvara). The material body is finished at the time of annihilation. Both the universal body and the small unit, the individual living entity’s body, are susceptible to annihilation at the ultimate end. However, the devotees do not fear the annihilation of the body, for they are confident that after the annihilation they will go back home, back to Godhead (tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti so ’rjuna [Bg. 4.9]). If one strictly follows the process of devotional service, he has no fear of death, for he is predestined to go back home, back to Godhead. The nondevotees are fearful of death because they have no guarantee of where they are going or of the type of body they are going to get in their next life. The word rudra-bhaya is significant in this verse because Rudra himself, Lord Śiva, is speaking of “fear of Rudra.” This indicates that there are many Rudras—eleven Rudras—and the Rudra (Lord Śiva) who was offering this prayer to the Supreme Personality of Godhead is different from the other Rudras, although he is as powerful as they are. The conclusion is that one Rudra is afraid of another Rudra because each and every one of them is engaged in the destruction of this cosmic manifestation. But for the devotee, everyone is afraid of Rudra, even Rudra himself. A devotee is never afraid of Rudra because he is always secure, being protected by the lotus feet of the Lord. As Śrī Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (9.31), kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati: “My dear Arjuna, you may declare publicly that My pure devotee will not be vanquished under any circumstances.” |
TEXT 69 wd& JaPaTa >ad]& vae ivéuÖa Na*PaNaNdNaa" ) SvDaMaRMaNauiTaïNTaae >aGavTYaiPaRTaaXaYaa" )) 69 )) idaṁ japata bhadraṁ vo viśuddhā nṛpa-nandanāḥ sva-dharmam anutiṣṭhanto bhagavaty arpitāśayāḥ SYNONYMS idam—this; japata—while chanting; bhadram—all auspiciousness; vaḥ—all of you; viśuddhāḥ—purified; nṛpa-nandanāḥ—the sons of the King; sva-dharmam—one’s occupational duties; anutiṣṭhantaḥ—executing; bhagavati—unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; arpita—given up; āśayāḥ—possessing all kinds of faithfulness. TRANSLATION My dear sons of the King, just execute your occupational duty as kings with a pure heart. Just chant this prayer fixing your mind on the lotus feet of the Lord. That will bring you all good fortune, for the Lord will be very much pleased with you. PURPORT The prayers offered by Lord Śiva are very authoritative and significant. Simply by offering prayers to the Supreme Lord one can become perfect, even though engaged in his occupational duty. The real purpose of life is to become a devotee of the Lord. It does not matter where one is situated. Whether one is a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra, American, Englishman, Indian, etc., one can execute devotional service anywhere and everywhere in the material existence simply by offering prayers unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is also a prayer, for a prayer addresses the Supreme Personality of Godhead by His name and invokes good fortune by petitioning the Lord to allow one to engage in His devotional service. The Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra also says, “My dear Lord Kṛṣṇa, my dear Lord Rāma, O energy of the Lord, Hare, kindly engage me in Your service.” Although one may be situated in a lowly position, he can execute devotional service under any circumstance, as stated, ahaituky apratihatā: “Devotional service cannot be checked by any material condition.” (Bhāg. 1.2.6) Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu also recommended this process: jñāne prayāsam udapāsya namanta eva jīvanti san-mukharitāṁ bhavadīya-vārtām sthāne sthitāḥ śruti-gatāṁ tanu-vāṅ-manobhir ye prāyaśo ’jita jito ’py asi tais tri-lokyām (Bhāg. 10.14.3) One may remain situated in his own place or his own occupational duty and still lend his ear to receive the message of the Lord from realized souls. The Kṛṣṇa conscious movement is based on this principle, and we are opening centers all over the world to give everyone a chance to hear the message of Lord Kṛṣṇa in order to go back home, back to Godhead. |
TEXT 70 TaMaevaTMaaNaMaaTMaSQa& SavR>aUTaeZvviSQaTaMa( ) PaUJaYaß& Ga*<aNTaê DYaaYaNTaêaSak*-ÖirMa( )) 70 )) tam evātmānam ātma-sthaṁ sarva-bhūteṣv avasthitam pūjayadhvaṁ gṛṇantaś ca dhyāyantaś cāsakṛd dharim SYNONYMS tam—unto Him; eva—certainly; ātmānam—the Supreme Soul; ātma-stham—within your hearts; sarva—all; bhūteṣu—in every living being; avasthitam—situated; pūjayadhvam—just worship Him; gṛṇantaḥ ca—always chanting; dhyāyantaḥ ca—always meditating upon; asakṛt—continuously; harim—the Supreme Personality of Godhead. TRANSLATION Therefore, O sons of the King, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, is situated in everyone’s heart. He is also within your hearts. Therefore chant the glories of the Lord and always meditate upon Him continuously. PURPORT The word asakṛt is significant, for it means not just for a few minutes but continuously. That is the instruction given by Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu in His Śikṣāṣṭaka 3. Kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ: [Cc. adi 17.31] “The holy name of the Lord should be chanted twenty-four hours daily.” Therefore in this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement we request the devotees to chant at least sixteen rounds on their beads daily. Actually one has to chant twenty-four hours daily, just like Ṭhākura Haridāsa, who was chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra three hundred thousand times daily. Indeed, he had no other business. Some of the Gosvāmīs, like Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, were also chanting very rigidly and also offering obeisances very rigidly. As stated in Śrīnivāsācārya’s prayer to the six Gosvāmīs (Ṣaḍ-gosvāmy-aṣṭaka): saṅkhyā-pūrvaka-nāma-gāna-natibhiḥ kālāvasānī-kṛtau. The word saṅkhyā-pūrvaka means “maintaining a numerical strength.” Not only was Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī chanting the holy name of the Lord, but he was also offering obeisances in the same prolific numbers. Because the princes were ready to enter into some severe austerity in order to worship the Lord, Lord Śiva advised them to constantly chant of and meditate upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is significant that Lord Śiva personally offered his prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead just as he was taught by his father, Lord Brahmā. Similarly, he was also preaching to the princes according to the paramparā system. One not only should practice the instructions received from the spiritual master but should also distribute this knowledge to one’s disciples. The words ātmānam ātma-sthaṁ sarva-bhūteṣv avasthitam are also significant. The Personality of Godhead is the origin of all living entities. Because the living entities are parts and parcels of the Lord, He is the father of all of them. One can search out the Supreme Lord very easily within one’s heart, for He is situated in every living entity’s heart. In this verse the process of worshiping the Lord is considered to be very easy and complete, for anyone can sit down anywhere and in any condition of life and simply chant the holy names of the Lord. By chanting and hearing, one automatically engages in meditation. |
YaaeGaadeXaMauPaaSaaÛ DaarYaNTaae MauiNav]Taa" ) SaMaaihTaiDaYa" SavR WTad>YaSaTaad*Taa" )) 71 )) yogādeśam upāsādya dhārayanto muni-vratāḥ samāhita-dhiyaḥ sarva etad abhyasatādṛtāḥ SYNONYMS yoga-ādeśam—this instruction of bhakti-yoga; upāsādya—constantly reading; dhārayantaḥ—and taking within the heart; muni-vratāḥ—just take the vow of the great sages, the vow of silence; samāhita—always fixed in the mind; dhiyaḥ—with intelligence; sarve—all of you; etat—this; abhyasata—practice; ādṛtāḥ—with great reverence. TRANSLATION My dear princes, in the form of a prayer I have delineated the yoga system of chanting the holy name. All of you should take this important stotra within your minds and promise to keep it in order to become great sages. By acting silently like a great sage and by giving attention and reverence, you should practice this method. PURPORT In the haṭha-yoga system one has to practice bodily exercises, dhyāna, dhāraṇā, āsana, meditation, etc. One also has to sit in one place in a particular posture and concentrate his gaze on the tip of the nose. There are so many rules and regulations for the haṭha-yoga system that it is practically impossible to perform it in this age. The alternative system of bhakti-yoga is very easy not only in this age but in others as well, for this yoga system was advocated long ago by Lord Śiva when he advised the princes, the sons of Mahārāja Prācīnabarhiṣat. The bhakti-yoga system is not newly introduced, for even five thousand years ago Lord Kṛṣṇa recommended this bhakti-yoga as the topmost yoga. As Kṛṣṇa tells Arjuna in Bhagavad-gītā (6.47): yoginām api sarveṣāṁ mad-gatenāntarātmanā śraddhāvān bhajate yo māṁ sa me yuktatamo mataḥ “Of all yogīs, he who always abides in Me with great faith, worshiping Me in transcendental loving service, is most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all.” The topmost yogī is he who constantly thinks of Kṛṣṇa within himself and chants the glories of the Lord. In other words, this system of bhakti-yoga has been existing from time immemorial and is now continuing in this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. The word muni-vratāḥ is significant in this regard because those who are interested in advancing in spiritual life must be silent. Silence means talking only of kṛṣṇa-kathā. This is the silence of Mahārāja Ambarīṣa: sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayor vacāṁsi vaikuṇṭha-guṇānuvarṇane “King Ambarīṣa always fixed his mind on the lotus feet of the Lord and talked of Him only.” (Bhāg. 9.4.19) We should also take this opportunity in life to become as good as a great saint simply by not talking unnecessarily with unwanted persons. We should either talk of Kṛṣṇa or chant Hare Kṛṣṇa undeviatingly. This is called muni-vrata. The intelligence must be very sharp (samāhita-dhiyaḥ) and should always be acting in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The words etad abhyasatādṛtāḥ indicate that if one takes these instructions from a spiritual master with great reverence (ādṛta) and practices them accordingly, he will find this bhakti-yoga process to be very, very easy. |
TEXT 72 wdMaah PauraSMaak&- >aGavaNa( ivìSa*KPaiTa" ) >a*GvadqNaaMaaTMaJaaNaa& iSaSa*+au" Sa&iSaSa*+aTaaMa( )) 72 )) idam āha purāsmākaṁ bhagavān viśvasṛk-patiḥ bhṛgv-ādīnām ātmajānāṁ sisṛkṣuḥ saṁsisṛkṣatām SYNONYMS idam—this; āha—said; purā—formerly; asmākam—unto us; bhagavān—the lord; viśva-sṛk—the creators of the universe; patiḥ—master; bhṛgu-ādīnām—of the great sages headed by Bhṛgu; ātmajānām—of his sons; sisṛkṣuḥ—desirous of creating; saṁsisṛkṣatām—who are in charge of creation. TRANSLATION This prayer was first spoken to us by Lord Brahmā, the master of all creators. The creators, headed by Bhṛgu, were instructed in these prayers because they wanted to create. PURPORT Lord Brahmā was created by Lord Viṣṇu; then Lord Brahmā created Lord Śiva and other great sages, headed by Bhṛgu Muni. These great sages included Bhṛgu, Marīci, Ātreya, Vasiṣṭha and others. All these great sages were in charge of creating population. Since there were not very many living entities in the beginning, Viṣṇu entrusted Brahmā with the business of creation, and Brahmā in his turn created many hundreds and thousands of demigods and great sages to continue with the creation. At the same time, Lord Brahmā cautioned all his sons and disciples by reciting the prayers now recited by Lord Śiva. The material creation means material engagement, but material engagements can be counteracted if we always remember our relationship with the Lord as that relationship is described in these prayers recited by Lord Śiva. In this way we can remain constantly in touch with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus despite our engagement in the creation, we cannot be deviated from the path of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is especially meant for this purpose. In this material world everyone is engaged in some particular occupational duty which is prescribed in the varṇāśrama-dharma. Brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, śūdras and everyone are engaged in their occupational duty, but if one remembers his first duty—keeping in constant contact with the Supreme Personality of Godhead—everything will be successful. If one simply executes the rules and regulations of the varṇāśrama-dharma in the role of a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya or śūdra and keeps busy and does not remember one’s eternal relationship with the Lord, one’s business and activities as well as occupational duties will simply be a waste of time. This is confirmed in the First Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.8): dharmaḥ svanuṣṭhitaḥ puṁsāṁ viṣvaksena-kathāsu yaḥ notpādayed yadi ratiṁ śrama eva hi kevalam The conclusion is that even if one is busy executing his occupational duty, his business in Kṛṣṇa consciousness need not be hampered. He has simply to execute the devotional service of śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam—hearing, chanting and remembering. One need not abandon his occupational duty. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (18.46): yataḥ pravṛttir bhūtānāṁ yena sarvam idaṁ tatam sva-karmaṇā tam abhyarcya siddhiṁ vindati mānavaḥ “By worship of the Lord—who is the source of all beings and who is all-pervading—man can, in the performance of his own duty, attain perfection.” Thus one can continue with his occupational duty, but if he worships the Supreme Personality of Godhead as Lord Śiva herein prescribes, he attains his perfection of life. Svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam (Bhāg. 1.2.13). We should continue executing our occupational duties, but if we try to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead by our duties, then our lives will be perfected. |
TEXT 73 Tae vYa& NaaeidTaa" SaveR Pa[JaaSaGaeR Pa[Jaeìra" ) ANaeNa ßSTaTaMaSa" iSaSa*+Maae ivivDaa" Pa[Jaa" )) 73 )) te vayaṁ noditāḥ sarve prajā-sarge prajeśvarāḥ anena dhvasta-tamasaḥ sisṛkṣmo vividhāḥ prajāḥ SYNONYMS te—by him; vayam—all of us; noditāḥ—ordered; sarve—all; prajā-sarge—at the time of creating population; prajā-īśvarāḥ—the controllers of all living entities; anena—by this; dhvasta-tamasaḥ—being freed from all kinds of ignorance; sisṛkṣmaḥ—we created; vividhāḥ—various kinds of; prajāḥ—living entities. TRANSLATION When all the Prajāpatis were ordered to create by Lord Brahmā, we chanted these prayers in praise of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and became completely free from all ignorance. Thus we were able to create different types of living entities. PURPORT In this verse we can understand that the various types of living entities were created simultaneously at the very beginning of the creation. The nonsensical Darwinian theory of evolution is not applicable here. It is not that intelligent human beings did not exist millions of years ago. On the contrary, it is understood that the most intelligent creature, Lord Brahmā, was first created. Then Lord Brahmā created other saintly sages like Marīci, Bhṛgu, Ātreya, Vasiṣṭha and Lord Śiva. They in their turn created different types of bodies according to karma. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Lord Kapiladeva told His mother that the living entity gets a particular type of body in accordance with his work and that this body is decided upon by higher authorities. The higher authorities, as appointed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, are Lord Brahmā and all other Prajāpatis and Manus. Thus from the beginning of creation it can be seen that the first creature is the most intelligent. It is not that so-called modern intelligence has developed by the gradual process of evolution. As stated in Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa, there is a gradual evolutionary process, but it is not the body that is evolving. All the bodily forms are already there. It is the spiritual entity, or spiritual spark within the body, that is being promoted by the laws of nature under the supervision of superior authority. We can understand from this verse that from the very beginning of creation different varieties of living entities were existing. It is not that some of them have become extinct. Everything is there; it is due to our lack of knowledge that we cannot see things in their proper perspective. In this verse the word dhvasta-tamasaḥ is very important, for without being free of ignorance one cannot control the creation of different types of living entities. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.31.1), daiva-netreṇa—bodies are awarded under the supervision of superior powers. How can these superior powers control the evolutionary process of the living entity if they are not free from all imperfection? The followers of the Vedic instructions cannot accept the Darwinian theory of evolution, for it is marred by imperfect knowledge. |
TEXT 74 AQaed& iNaTYada Yau¢-ae JaPaàvihTa" PauMaaNa( ) AicraC^\eYa AaPanaeiTa vaSaudevParaYa<a" )) 74 )) athedaṁ nityadā yukto japann avahitaḥ pumān acirāc chreya āpnoti vāsudeva-parāyaṇaḥ SYNONYMS atha—thus; idam—this; nityadā—regularly; yuktaḥ—with great attention; japan—by murmuring; avahitaḥ—fully attentive; pumān—a person; acirāt—without delay; śreyaḥ—auspiciousness; āpnoti—achieves; vāsudeva-parāyaṇaḥ—one who is a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. TRANSLATION A devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa whose mind is always absorbed in Him, who with great attention and reverence chants this stotra [prayer], will achieve the greatest perfection of life without delay. PURPORT Perfection means becoming a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. As stated in the First Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.28): vāsudeva-parā vedā vāsudeva-parā makhāḥ. The ultimate goal of life is Vāsudeva, or Kṛṣṇa. Any devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa can attain all perfection, material gains and liberation simply by offering prayers to Him. There are many varieties of prayers to Lord Kṛṣṇa chanted by great sages and great personalities such as Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva. Lord Kṛṣṇa is known as śiva-viriñcinutam (Bhāg. 11.5.33). Śiva means Lord Śiva, and viriñci means Lord Brahmā. Both of these demigods are engaged in offering prayers to Lord Vāsudeva, Kṛṣṇa. If we follow in the footsteps of such great personalities and become devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa, our lives will become successful. Unfortunately people do not know this secret. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum: “They do not know that the real interest and the highest perfection of life is to worship Lord Viṣṇu [Kṛṣṇa].” (Bhāg. 7.5.31) It is impossible to become satisfied by trying to adjust the external energy. Without being a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa, one can only be baffled and confused. To save living entities from such a calamity, Lord Kṛṣṇa points out in Bhagavad-gītā (7.19): bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ “After many, many births and deaths, a wise man surrenders unto Me, knowing very well that I, Vāsudeva, am everything. Such a great soul is very rare.” We can achieve whatever benediction we want simply by becoming devotees of Vāsudeva. |
é[eYaSaaiMah SaveRza& jaNa& iNa"é[eYaSa& ParMa( ) Sau%& TariTa duZPaar& jaNaNaaEVYaRSaNaa<aRvMa( )) 75 )) śreyasām iha sarveṣāṁ jñānaṁ niḥśreyasaṁ param sukhaṁ tarati duṣpāraṁ jñāna-naur vyasanārṇavam SYNONYMS śreyasām—of all benedictions; iha—in this world; sarveṣām—of every person; jñānam—knowledge; niḥśreyasam—the supreme benefit; param—transcendental; sukham—happiness; tarati—crosses over; duṣpāram—insurmountable; jñāna—knowledge; nauḥ—boat; vyasana—danger; arṇavam—the ocean. TRANSLATION In this material world there are different types of achievement, but of all of them the achievement of knowledge is considered to be the highest because one can cross the ocean of nescience only on the boat of knowledge. Otherwise the ocean is impassable. PURPORT Actually everyone is suffering within this material world due to ignorance. Every day we see that a person without knowledge commits some criminal act and is later arrested and punished, despite the fact that he actually may not have been conscious of his sinful activity. Such ignorance prevails throughout the world. People do not consider how they are risking their lives in an attempt to have illicit sex life, kill animals to satisfy their tongue, enjoy intoxication and gamble. It is very regrettable that the leaders of the world do not know of the effects of these sinful activities. They are instead taking things very easily and are succeeding in making the ocean of nescience wider and wider. Opposed to such ignorance, full knowledge is the greatest achievement within this material world. We can practically see that one who has sufficient knowledge is saved from many dangerous pitfalls in life. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (7.19), bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate: “When one actually becomes wise, he surrenders unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” Vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ: “Such a great soul is very rarely to be found.” This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is determined to open wide the eyes of the so-called leaders, who are full of ignorance, and thus save them from the many pitfalls and dangerous conditions of life. The greatest danger is the danger of getting a body lower than that of a human being. It was with great difficulty that we attained this human form of life just to take advantage of this body and reestablish our relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda. Lord Śiva advises, however, that those who take advantage of his prayers will very soon become devotees of Lord Vāsudeva and thus will be able to cross the ocean of nescience and make life perfect. |
Ya wMa& é[ÖYaa Yau¢-ae MaÓqTa& >aGavTSTavMa( ) ADaqYaaNaae duraraDYa& hirMaaraDaYaTYaSaaE )) 76 )) ya imaṁ śraddhayā yukto mad-gītaṁ bhagavat-stavam adhīyāno durārādhyaṁ harim ārādhayaty asau SYNONYMS yaḥ—anyone; imam—this; śraddhayā—with great faith; yuktaḥ—devoutly attached; mat-gītam—the song composed by me or sung by me; bhagavat-stavam—a prayer offered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead; adhīyānaḥ—by regular study; durārādhyam—very difficult to worship; harim—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; ārādhayati—he can, however, worship Him; asau—such a person. TRANSLATION Although rendering devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and worshiping Him are very difficult, if one vibrates or simply reads this stotra [prayer] composed and sung by me, he will very easily be able to invoke the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. PURPORT It is especially significant that Lord Śiva is a pure devotee of Lord Vāsudeva. Vaiṣṇavānāṁ yathā śambhuḥ: “Amongst all Vaiṣṇavas, Lord Śiva is the topmost.” Consequently Lord Śiva has a sampradāya, a Vaiṣṇava disciplic succession, called the Rudra-sampradāya. At the present moment those who belong to the Viṣṇusvāmi-sampradāya of Vaiṣṇavas come from Rudra, Lord Śiva. To become a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa, Vāsudeva, is very, very difficult. The word especially used in this connection is durārādhyam. The worship of the demigods is not very difficult, but becoming a devotee of Lord Vāsudeva, Kṛṣṇa, is not so easy. However, if one adheres to the principles and follows in the footsteps of the higher authorities, as advised by Lord Śiva, one can easily become a devotee of Lord Vāsudeva. This is also confirmed by Prahlāda Mahārāja. Devotional service cannot be practiced by a mental speculator. Devotional service is a special attainment which can be acquired only by a person who has surrendered unto a pure devotee. As confirmed by Prahlāda Mahārāja, mahīyasāṁ pāda-rajo-’bhiṣekaṁ niṣkiñcanānāṁ na vṛṇīta yāvat: “Unless one accepts the dust of the lotus feet of a pure devotee, who is free from all material contamination, one cannot enter into the devotional service of the Lord.” (Bhāg. 7.5.32) |
TEXT 77 ivNdTae Pauåzae_MauZMaaÛÛidC^TYaSaTvrMa( ) MaÓqTaGaqTaaTSauPa[qTaaC^\eYaSaaMaek-vç>aaTa( )) 77 )) vindate puruṣo ’muṣmād yad yad icchaty asatvaram mad-gīta-gītāt suprītāc chreyasām eka-vallabhāt SYNONYMS vindate—achieves; puruṣaḥ—a devotee; amuṣmāt—from the Personality of Godhead; yat yat—that which; icchati—desires; asatvaram—being fixed; mat-gīta—sung by me; gītāt—by the song; su-prītāt—from the Lord, who is very pleased; śreyasām—of all benediction; eka—one; vallabhāt—from the dearmost. TRANSLATION The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the dearmost objective of all auspicious benedictions. A human being who sings this song sung by me can please the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such a devotee, being fixed in the Lord’s devotional service, can acquire whatever he wants from the Supreme Lord. PURPORT As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (6.22), yaṁ labdhvā cāparaṁ lābhaṁ manyate nādhikaṁ tataḥ: if one can attain the favor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he has nothing to aspire for, nor does he desire any other gain. When Dhruva Mahārāja became perfect by austerity and saw the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face, he was offered any kind of benediction he wanted. However, Dhruva replied that he did not want anything, for he was perfectly satisfied with the benediction of seeing the Lord. Except for the service of the Supreme Lord, whatever we want is called illusion, māyā. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said: jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya—kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’ (Cc. Madhya 20.108). Every living entity is an eternal servant of the Lord; therefore when one engages in the service of the Lord, he realizes the highest perfection of life. A faithful servant can fulfill any desire by the grace of the master, and one who engages in the transcendental loving service of the Lord has nothing to aspire for separately. All his desires are fulfilled simply by engaging constantly in the Lord’s loving service. Lord Śiva shows us that any devotee can be successful simply by chanting the prayers which he has recited. |
TEXT 78 wd& Ya" k-LYa oTQaaYa Pa[aÅil/" é[ÖYaaiNvTa" ) é*<auYaaC^\avYaeNMaTYaaeR MauCYaTae k-MaRbNDaNaE" )) 78 )) idaṁ yaḥ kalya utthāya prāñjaliḥ śraddhayānvitaḥ śṛṇuyāc chrāvayen martyo mucyate karma-bandhanaiḥ SYNONYMS idam—this prayer; yaḥ—a devotee who; kalye—early in the morning; utthāya—after getting up from bed; prāñjaliḥ—with folded hands; śraddhayā—with faith and devotion; anvitaḥ—thus being absorbed; śṛṇuyāt—personally chants and hears; śrāvayet—and gets others to hear; martyaḥ—such a human being; mucyate—becomes freed; karma-bandhanaiḥ—from all kinds of actions resulting from fruitive activities. TRANSLATION A devotee who rises early in the morning and with folded hands chants these prayers sung by Lord Śiva and gives facility to others to hear them certainly becomes free from all bondage to fruitive activities. PURPORT Mukti, or liberation, means becoming free from the results of fruitive activities. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.10.6): muktir hitvānyathā-rūpam. Mukti means giving up all other activities and being situated in one’s constitutional position (svarupeṇa vyavasthitiḥ). In this conditional state, we are entangled by one fruitive activity after another. Karma-bandhana means “the bonds of fruitive activity.” As long as one’s mind is absorbed in fruitive activities, he has to manufacture plans for happiness. The bhakti-yoga process is different, for bhakti-yoga means acting according to the order of the supreme authority. When we act under the direction of supreme authority, we do not become entangled by fruitive results. For instance, Arjuna fought because the Supreme Personality of Godhead wanted him to; therefore he was not responsible for the outcome of the fighting. As far as devotional service is concerned, even hearing and chanting is as good as acting with our body, mind and senses. Actually, hearing and chanting are also activities of the senses. When the senses are utilized for one’s own sense gratification, they entangle one in karma, but when they are used for the satisfaction of the Lord, they establish one in bhakti. |
Pa[acqNabihRz& +ata" k-MaRSvaSa¢-MaaNaSaMa( ) Naardae_DYaaTMaTatvj" k*-Paalu/" Pa[TYabaeDaYaTa( )) 3 )) prācīnabarhiṣaṁ kṣattaḥ karmasv āsakta-mānasam nārado ’dhyātma-tattva-jñaḥ kṛpāluḥ pratyabodhayat SYNONYMS prācīnabarhiṣam—unto King Prācīnabarhiṣat; kṣattaḥ—O Vidura; karmasu—in fruitive activities; āsakta—attached; mānasam—with this mentality; nāradaḥ—the great sage Nārada; adhyātma—spiritualism; tattva-jñaḥ—one who knows the truth; kṛpāluḥ—being compassionate; pratyabodhayat—gave instructions. TRANSLATION While the princes were undergoing severe austerities in the water, their father was performing different types of fruitive activities. At this time the great saint Nārada, master and teacher of all spiritual life, became very compassionate upon the King and decided to instruct him about spiritual life. PURPORT As pointed out by Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, a great devotee of Lord Caitanya, kaivalya, or merging into the Brahman effulgence, is just like going to hell. He similarly states that elevation to the upper planetary systems for the enjoyment of heavenly life is just so much phantasmagoria. This means that a devotee does not give any importance to the ultimate goal of the karmīs and jñānīs. The ultimate goal of the karmīs is promotion to the heavenly kingdom, and the ultimate goal of the jñānīs is merging into the Brahman effulgence. Of course, the jñānīs are superior to the karmīs, as confirmed by Lord Caitanya. Koṭi-karmaniṣṭha-madhye eka ‘jñānī’ śreṣṭha: “one jñānī, or impersonalist, is better than many thousands of fruitive actors.” (Cc. Madhya 19.147) Therefore a devotee never enters upon the path of karma, or elevation by fruitive activities. Nārada Muni took compassion upon King Prācīnabarhiṣat when he saw the King engaged in fruitive activity. In comparison to mundane workers, those who are trying to be elevated to the higher planetary systems by performing yajñas are undoubtedly superior. In pure devotional service, however, both karma and jñāna are considered bewildering features of the illusory energy. |
TEXT 4 é[eYaSTv& k-TaMad]aJaNa( k-MaR<aaTMaNa wRhSae ) du"%haiNa" Sau%avaiá" é[eYaSTaàeh ceZYaTae )) 4 )) śreyas tvaṁ katamad rājan karmaṇātmana īhase duḥkha-hāniḥ sukhāvāptiḥ śreyas tan neha ceṣyate SYNONYMS śreyaḥ—ultimate benediction; tvam—you; katamat—what is that; rājan—O King; karmaṇā—by fruitive activities; ātmanaḥ—of the soul; īhase—you desire; duḥkha-hāniḥ—disappearance of all distresses; sukha-avāptiḥ—attainment of all happiness; śreyaḥ—benediction; tat—that; na—never; iha—in this connection; ca—and; iṣyate—is available. TRANSLATION Nārada Muni asked King Prācīnabarhiṣat: My dear King, what do you desire to achieve by performing these fruitive activities? The chief aim of life is to get rid of all miseries and enjoy happiness, but these two things cannot be realized by fruitive activity. PURPORT In this material world there is a great illusion which covers real intelligence. A man in the mode of passion wants to work very hard to derive some benefit, but he does not know that time will never allow him to enjoy anything permanently. Compared with the work one expends, the gain is not so profitable. Even if it is profitable, it is not without its distresses. If a man is not born rich and he wants to purchase a house, cars and other material things, he has to work hard day and night for many years in order to possess them. Thus happiness is not attained without undergoing some distress. Actually, pure happiness cannot be had within this material world. If we wish to enjoy something, we must suffer for something else. On the whole, suffering is the nature of this material world, and whatever enjoyment we are trying to achieve is simply illusion. After all, we have to suffer the miseries of birth, old age, disease and death. We may discover many fine medicines, but it is not possible to stop the sufferings of disease or death. Actually, medicine is not the counteracting agent for either disease or death. On the whole there is no happiness in this material world, but an illusioned person works very hard for so-called happiness. Indeed, this process of working hard is actually taken for happiness. This is called illusion. Therefore Nārada Muni asked King Prācīnabarhiṣat what he desired to attain by performing so many costly sacrifices. Even if one attains a heavenly planet, he cannot avoid the distresses of birth, old age, disease and death. Someone may argue that even devotees have to undergo many distresses in executing austerities and penances connected with devotional service. Of course, for the neophytes the routine of devotional service may be very painful, but at least they have the hope that they will ultimately be able to avoid all kinds of distresses and achieve the highest perfectional stage of happiness. For the common karmīs, there is no such hope because even if they are promoted to the higher planetary systems, they are not guaranteed freedom from the miseries of birth, old age, disease and death. Even Lord Brahmā, who is situated in the highest planetary system (Brahmaloka), has to die. Lord Brahmā’s birth and death may be different from an ordinary man’s, but within this material world he cannot avoid the distresses of birth, old age, disease and death. If one is at all serious about attaining liberation from these miseries, he must take to devotional service. This is confirmed by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gītā (4.9): janma karma ca me divyam evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti so ’rjuna “One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.” Thus after attaining full Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the devotee does not return to this material world after death. He goes back home, back to Godhead. That is the perfect stage of happiness, unblemished by any trace of distress. |
TEXT 5 raJaaevac Na JaaNaaiMa Maha>aaGa Par& k-MaaRPaivÖDaq" ) b]Uih Mae ivMal&/ jaNa& YaeNa MauCYaeYa k-MaRi>a" )) 5 )) rājovāca na jānāmi mahā-bhāga paraṁ karmāpaviddha-dhīḥ brūhi me vimalaṁ jñānaṁ yena mucyeya karmabhiḥ SYNONYMS rājā uvāca—the King replied; na—not; jānāmi—I know; mahā-bhāga—O great soul; param—transcendental; karma—by fruitive activities; apaviddha—being pierced; dhīḥ—my intelligence; brūhi—please tell; me—to me; vimalam—spotless; jñānam—knowledge; yena—by which; mucyeya—I can get relief; karmabhiḥ—from the fruitive activities. TRANSLATION The King replied: O great soul, Nārada, my intelligence is entangled in fruitive activities; therefore I do not know the ultimate goal of life. Kindly instruct me in pure knowledge so that I can get out of the entanglement of fruitive activities. PURPORT Śrī Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has sung: sat-saṅga chāḍi’ kainu asate vilāsa te-kāraṇe lāgila ye karma-bandha-phāṅsa As long as a person is entangled in fruitive activities, he is bound to accept one body after another. This is called karma-bandha-phāṅsa—entanglement in fruitive activities. It does not matter whether one is engaged in pious or impious activities, for both are causes for further entanglement in material bodies. By pious activities one can take birth in a rich family and get a good education and a beautiful body, but this does not mean that the distresses of life are ultimately eliminated. In the Western countries it is not unusual for one to take birth in a rich aristocratic family, nor is it unusual for one to have a good education and a very beautiful body, but this does not mean that Westerners are free from the distresses of life. Although at the present moment the younger generation in Western countries has sufficient education, beauty and wealth, and although there is enough food, clothing, and facilities for sense gratification, they are in distress. Indeed, they are so distressed that they become hippies, and the laws of nature force them to accept a wretched life. Thus they go about unclean and without shelter or food, and they are forced to sleep in the street. It can be concluded that one cannot become happy by simply performing pious activities. It is not a fact that those who are born with a silver spoon in their mouth are free from the material miseries of birth, old age, disease and death. The conclusion is that one cannot be happy by simply executing pious or impious activities. Such activities simply cause entanglement and transmigration from one body to another. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura calls this karma-bandha-phāṅsa. King Prācīnabarhiṣat admitted this fact and frankly asked Nārada Muni how he could get out of this karma-bandha-phāṅsa, entanglement in fruitive activities. This is actually the stage of knowledge indicated in the first verse of Vedānta-sūtra: athāto brahma jijñāsā. When one actually reaches the platform of frustration in an attempt to discharge karma-bandha-phāṅsa, he inquires about the real value of life, which is called brahma jijñāsā. In order to inquire about the ultimate goal of life, the Vedas enjoin, tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet: [MU tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet samit-pāṇiḥ śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham “To understand these things properly, one must humbly approach, with firewood in hand, a spiritual master who is learned in the Vedas and firmly devoted to the Absolute Truth.” [Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.2.12] King Prācīnabarhiṣat found the best spiritual master, Nārada Muni, and he therefore asked him about that knowledge by which one can get out of the entanglement of karma-bandha-phāṅsa, fruitive activities. This is the actual business of human life. Jīvasya tattva jijñāsā nārtho yaś ceha karmabhiḥ. As stated in the Second Chapter of the First Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.10), a human being’s only business is inquiring from a bona fide spiritual master about extrication from the entanglement of karma-bandha-phāṅsa. |
Ga*hezu kU-$=DaMaeRzu Pau}adarDaNaaQaRDaq" ) Na Par& ivNdTae MaU!ae >a]aMYaNa( Sa&SaarvTMaRSau )) 6 )) gṛheṣu kūṭa-dharmeṣu putra-dāra-dhanārtha-dhīḥ na paraṁ vindate mūḍho bhrāmyan saṁsāra-vartmasu SYNONYMS gṛheṣu—in family life; kūṭa-dharmeṣu—in false occupational duties; putra—sons; dāra—wife; dhana—wealth; artha—the goal of life; dhīḥ—one who considers; na—not; param—transcendence; vindate—achieves; mūḍhaḥ—rascal; bhrāmyan—wandering; saṁsāra—of material existence; vartmasu—on the paths. TRANSLATION Those who are interested only in a so-called beautiful life—namely remaining as a householder entangled by sons and a wife and searching after wealth—think that such things are life’s ultimate goal. Such people simply wander in different types of bodies throughout this material existence without finding out the ultimate goal of life. PURPORT Those who are too much attached to family life—which consists of entanglement with wife, children, wealth and home—are engaged in kūṭa-dharma, pseudo duties. Prahlāda Mahārāja has likened these pseudo occupational duties to a dark well (andha-kūpam). Prahlāda has purposefully spoken of this dark well because if one falls into this well, he will die. He may cry for help, but no one will hear him or come to rescue him. The words bhrāmyan saṁsāra-vartmasu are significant. In Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 19.151), Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu very clearly explains: brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva. All living entities are wandering in different types of bodies throughout different planets, and if, in the course of their wanderings, they come in contact with a devotee by the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, their lives become successful. Even though King Prācīnabarhiṣat was engaged in fruitive activity, the great sage Nārada appeared before him. The King was very fortunate to be able to associate with Nārada, who enlightened him in spiritual knowledge. It is the duty of all saintly persons to follow in the footsteps of Nārada Muni and travel all over the world to every country and village just to instruct illusioned persons about the goal of life and to save them from the entanglement of karma-bandha, fruitive activity. |
TEXT 10 AaSaqTPaurÅNaae NaaMa raJaa raJaNa( b*hC^\va" ) TaSYaaivjaTaNaaMaaSaqTSa%aivjaTaceiíTa" )) 10 )) āsīt purañjano nāma rājā rājan bṛhac-chravāḥ tasyāvijñāta-nāmāsīt sakhāvijñāta-ceṣṭitaḥ SYNONYMS āsīt—there was; purañjanaḥ—Purañjana; nāma—named; rājā—king; rājan—O King; bṛhat-śravāḥ—whose activities were great; tasya—his; avijñāta—the unknown one; nāmā—of the name; āsīt—there was; sakhā—friend; avijñāta—unknown; ceṣṭitaḥ—whose activities. TRANSLATION My dear King, once in the past lived a king named Purañjana, who was celebrated for his great activities. He had a friend named Avijñāta [“the unknown one”]. No one could understand the activities of Avijñāta. PURPORT Every living entity is purañjana. The word puram means “within this body, within this form,” and jana means “living entity.” Thus everyone is purañjana. Every living entity is supposed to be the king of his body because the living entity is given full freedom to use his body as he likes. He usually engages his body for sense gratification, because one who is in the bodily conception of life feels that the ultimate goal of life is to serve the senses. This is the process of karma-kāṇḍa. One who has no inner knowledge, who does not know that he is actually the spirit soul living within the body, who is simply enamored by the dictation of the senses, is called a materialist. A materialistic person interested in sense gratification can be called a purañjana. Because such a materialistic person utilizes his senses according to his whims, he may also be called a king. An irresponsible king takes the royal position to be his personal property and misuses his treasury for sense gratification. The word bṛhac-chravāḥ is also significant. The word śravaḥ means “fame.” The living entity is famous from ancient times, for as stated in Bhagavad-gītā (2.20), na jāyate mriyate vā: “The living entity is never born and never dies.” Because he is eternal, his activities are eternal, although they are performed in different types of bodies. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre: [Bg. 2.20] “He does not die, even after the annihilation of the body.” Thus the living entity transmigrates from one body to another and performs various activities. In each body the living entity performs so many acts. Sometimes he becomes a great hero—just like Hiraṇyakaśipu and Kaṁsa or, in the modern age, Napoleon or Hitler. The activities of such men are certainly very great, but as soon as their bodies are finished, everything else is finished. Then they remain in name only. Therefore a living entity may be called bṛhac-chravāḥ; he may have a great reputation for various types of activities. Nonetheless, he has a friend whom he does not know. Materialistic persons do not understand that God is present as the Supersoul, who is situated within the heart of every living entity. Although the Paramātmā sits beside the jīvātmā as a friend, the jīvātmā, or living entity, does not know it. Consequently he is described as avijñāta-sakhā, meaning “one who has an unknown friend.” The word avijñāta-ceṣṭitaḥ is also significant because a living entity works hard under the direction of the Paramātmā and is carried away by the laws of nature. Nonetheless, he thinks himself independent of God and independent of the stringent laws of material nature. It is stated in Bhagavad-gītā (2.24): acchedyo ’yam adāhyo ’yam akledyo ’śoṣya eva ca nityaḥ sarva-gataḥ sthāṇur acalo ’yaṁ sanātanaḥ “This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble and can be neither burned nor dried. He is everlasting, all-pervading, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same.” The living entity is sanātana, eternal. Because he cannot be killed by any weapon, burnt into ashes by fire, soaked or moistened by water, nor dried up by air, he is considered to be immune to material reactions. Although he is changing bodies, he is not affected by the material conditions. He is placed under the material conditions, and he acts according to the directions of his friend, the Supersoul. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15): sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca “I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness.” Thus the Lord as Paramātmā is situated in everyone’s heart, and He gives directions to the living entity to act in whatever way the living entity desires. In this life and in his previous lives the living entity does not know that the Lord is giving him a chance to fulfill all kinds of desires. No one can fulfill any desire without the sanction of the Lord. All the facilities given by the Lord are unknown to the conditioned soul. |
TEXT 11 Saae_NvezMaa<a" Xar<a& b>a]aMa Pa*iQavq& Pa[>au" ) NaaNauæPa& YadaivNdd>aUTSa ivMaNaa wv )) 11 )) so ’nveṣamāṇaḥ śaraṇaṁ babhrāma pṛthivīṁ prabhuḥ nānurūpaṁ yadāvindad abhūt sa vimanā iva SYNONYMS saḥ—that King Purañjana; anveṣamāṇaḥ—searching after; śaraṇam—shelter; babhrāma—traveled over; pṛthivīm—the whole planet earth; prabhuḥ—to become an independent master; na—never; anurūpam—to his liking; yadā—when; avindat—he could find; abhūt—became; saḥ—he; vimanāḥ—morose; iva—like. TRANSLATION King Purañjana began to search for a suitable place to live, and thus he traveled all over the world. Even after a great deal of traveling, he could not find a place just to his liking. Finally he became morose and disappointed. PURPORT The travelings of Purañjana are similar to the travelings of the modern hippies. Generally hippies are sons of great fathers and great families. It is not that they are always poor. But some way or another they abandon the shelter of their rich fathers and travel all over the world. As stated in this verse, the living entity wants to become a prabhu, or master. The word prabhu means “master,” but actually the living entity is not a master; he is the eternal servant of God. When the living entity abandons the shelter of God, Kṛṣṇa, and tries to become a prabhu independently, he travels all over the creation. There are 8,400,000 species of life and millions and millions and trillions of planets within the creation. The living entity wanders throughout these various types of bodies and throughout different planets, and thus he is like King Purañjana, who traveled all over the world looking for a suitable place to live. Śrī Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has sung, karma-kāṇḍa, jñāna-kāṇḍa, kevala viṣera bhāṇḍa: “The path of karma-kāṇḍa [fruitive activities] and the path of jñāna-kāṇḍa [speculation] are just like strong pots of poison.” Amṛta baliyā yebā khāya, nānā yoni sadā phire: “A person who mistakes this poison to be nectar and drinks it travels in different species of life.” Kadarya bhakṣaṇa kare: “And, according to his body, he eats all types of abominable things.” For instance, when the living entity is in the body of a hog, he eats stool. When the living entity is in the body of a crow, he eats all kinds of refuse, even pus and mucus, and enjoys it. Thus Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura points out that the living entity travels in different types of bodies and eats all kinds of abominable things. When he does not become ultimately happy, he becomes morose or takes to the ways of hippies. Thus in this verse it is said (na anurūpam) that the King could never find a place suitable for his purposes. This is because in any form of life and on any planet in the material world, a living entity cannot be happy because everything in the material world is unsuitable for the spirit soul. As stated in this verse, the living entity independently wants to become a prabhu, but as soon as he gives up this idea and becomes a servant of God, Kṛṣṇa, his happiness immediately begins. Therefore Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura sings: khāccha hābuḍubu, bhāi “My dear living entity, why are you being carried away by the waves of māyā?” As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (18.61): īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe ’rjuna tiṣṭhati bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni yantrārūḍhāni māyayā “The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy.” The living entity is carried in the machine of the body through so many species of life on so many planets. Therefore Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura asks the living entity why he is being carried away in these bodily machines to be placed in so many different circumstances. He advises that one surmount the waves of māyā by surrendering unto Kṛṣṇa. karle ta’ āra duḥkha nāi As soon as we confront Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa advises: sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ “Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.” (Bg. 18.66) Thus we are immediately relieved from traveling from one body to another and from one planet to another. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu says: brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva (Cc. Madhya 19.151). If, while traveling, a living entity becomes fortunate enough to become blessed by the association of devotees and to come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, his real life actually begins. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is giving all wandering living entities a chance to take to the shelter of Kṛṣṇa and thus become happy. In this verse the words vimanā iva are very significant. In this material world even the great King of heaven is also full of anxiety. If even Lord Brahmā is full of anxiety, what of these ordinary living entities who are working within this planet? Bhagavad-gītā (8.16) confirms: ābrahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino ’rjuna “From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place.” In the material world a living entity is never satisfied. Even in the position of Brahmā or in the position of Indra or Candra, one is full of anxiety simply because he has accepted this material world as a place of happiness. |
TEXT 13 Sa Wk-da ihMavTaae di+a<aeZvQa SaaNauzu ) ddXaR Navi>aÜaRi>aR" Paur& l/i+aTal/+a<aaMa( )) 13 )) sa ekadā himavato dakṣiṇeṣv atha sānuṣu dadarśa navabhir dvārbhiḥ puraṁ lakṣita-lakṣaṇām SYNONYMS saḥ—that King Purañjana; ekadā—once upon a time; himavataḥ—of the Himalaya Mountains; dakṣiṇeṣu—southern; atha—after this; sānuṣu—on the ridges; dadarśa—found; navabhiḥ—with nine; dvārbhiḥ—gates; puram—a city; lakṣita—visible; lakṣaṇām—having all auspicious facilities. TRANSLATION Once, while wandering in this way, he saw on the southern side of the Himalayas, in a place named Bhārata-varṣa [India], a city that had nine gates all about and was characterized by all auspicious facilities. PURPORT The tract of land south of the Himalaya Mountains is the land of India, which was known as Bhārata-varṣa. When a living entity takes birth in Bhārata-varṣa he is considered to be most fortunate. Indeed, Caitanya Mahāprabhu has stated: bhārata-bhūmite haila manuṣya-janma yāra janma sārthaka kari’ kara para-upakāra (Cc. Ādi 9.41) Thus whoever takes birth in the land of Bhārata-varṣa attains all the facilities of life. He may take advantage of all these facilities for both material and spiritual advancement and thus make his life successful. After attaining the goal of life, one may distribute his knowledge and experience all over the world for humanitarian purposes. In other words, one who takes birth in the land of Bhārata-varṣa by virtue of his past pious activities gets full facility to develop the human form of life. In India, the climatic condition is such that one can live very peacefully without being disturbed by material conditions. Indeed, during the time of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira or Lord Rāmacandra, people were free from all anxieties. There was not even extreme cold or extreme heat. The three kinds of miserable conditions—adhyātmika, adhibhautika and adhidaivika (miseries inflicted by the body and mind itself, those inflicted by other living entities, and natural disturbances)—were all absent during the reign of Lord Rāmacandra or Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira. But at present, compared to other countries on earth, India is artificially disturbed. Despite these material disturbances, however, the country’s culture is such that one can easily attain the goal of life—namely salvation, or liberation from material bondage. Thus in order to take birth in India one must have performed many pious activities in a past life. In this verse the word lakṣita-lakṣaṇām indicates that the human body attained in Bhārata-varṣa is very auspicious. Vedic culture is full of knowledge, and a person born in India can fully take advantage of Vedic cultural knowledge and the cultural system known as varṇāśrama-dharma. Even at the present time, as we travel all over the world, we see that in some countries human beings have many material facilities but no facilities for spiritual advancement. We find everywhere the defects of one-sided facilities and a lack of full facilities. A blind man can walk but not see, and a lame man cannot walk but can see. Andha-paṅgu-nyāya. The blind man may take the lame man over his shoulder, and as he walks the lame man may give him directions. Thus combined they may work, but individually neither the blind man nor the lame man can walk successfully. Similarly, this human form of life is meant for the advancement of spiritual life and for keeping the material necessities in order. Especially in the Western countries there are ample facilities for material comforts, but no one has any idea of spiritual advancement. Many are hankering after spiritual advancement, but many cheaters come, take advantage of their money, bluff them and go away. Fortunately the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is there to give all facilities for both material and spiritual advancement. In this way people in the Western countries may take advantage of this movement. In India any man in the villages, unaffected by the industrial cities of India, can still live in any condition and make spiritual advancement. The body has been called the city of nine gates, and these nine gates include two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, one mouth, a genital and a rectum. When the nine gates are clean and working properly, it is to be understood that the body is healthy. In India these nine gates are kept clean by the villagers who rise early in the morning, bathe in the well or rivers, go to the temples to attend maṅgala-ārati, chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra and take prasāda. In this way one can take advantage of all the facilities of human life. We are gradually introducing this system in different centers in our Society in the Western countries. One who takes advantage of it becomes more and more enlightened in spiritual life. At the present moment, India may be compared to the lame man and the Western countries to the blind man. For the past two thousand years India has been subjugated by the rule of foreigners, and the legs of progress have been broken. In the Western countries the eyes of the people have become blind due to the dazzling glitter of material opulence. The blind man of the Western countries and the lame man of India should combine together in this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Then the lame man of India can walk with the help of the Westerner, and the blind Westerner can see with the help of the lame man. In short, the material advancement of the Western countries and the spiritual assets of India should combine for the elevation of all human society. |
TEXT 16 Sa>aacTvrrQYaai>ara§-I@aYaTaNaaPa<aE" ) cETYaßJaPaTaak-ai>aYauR¢-a& ivd]uMaveidi>a" )) 16 )) sabhā-catvara-rathyābhir ākrīḍāyatanāpaṇaiḥ caitya-dhvaja-patākābhir yuktāṁ vidruma-vedibhiḥ SYNONYMS sabhā—assembly houses; catvara—squares; rathyābhiḥ—by streets; ākrīḍa-āyatana—gambling houses; āpaṇaiḥ—by shops; caitya—resting places; dhvaja-patākābhiḥ—with flags and festoons; yuktām—decorated; vidruma—without trees; vedibhiḥ—with platforms. TRANSLATION In that city there were many assembly houses, street crossings, streets, restaurants, gambling houses, markets, resting places, flags, festoons and beautiful parks. All these surrounded the city. PURPORT In this way the capital is described. In the capital there are assembly houses and many squares, many street crossings, avenues and streets, many gambling places, markets and places of rest, all decorated with flags and festoons. The squares are surrounded with railings and are devoid of trees. The heart of the body can be compared to the assembly house, for the living entity is within the heart along with the Paramātmā, as stated in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15): sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca. The heart is the center of all remembrance, forgetfulness and deliberation. In the body the eyes, ears and nose are different places of attraction for sense enjoyment, and the streets for going hither and thither may be compared to different types of air blowing within the body. The yogic process for controlling the air within the body and the different nerves is called suṣumnā, the path of liberation. The body is also a resting place because when the living entity becomes fatigued he takes rest within the body. The palms and the soles of the feet are compared to flags and festoons. |
TEXT 24 STaNaaE VYaiÅTakE-XaaeraE SaMav*taaE iNarNTaraE ) vñaNTaeNa iNaGaUhNTaq& v]q@Yaa GaJaGaaiMaNaqMa( )) 24 )) stanau vyañjita-kaiśorau sama-vṛttau nirantarau vastrāntena nigūhantīṁ vrīḍayā gaja-gāminīm SYNONYMS stanau—breasts; vyañjita—indicating; kaiśorau—new youth; sama-vṛttau—equally round; nirantarau—fixed close, side by side; vastra-antena—by the end of the sārī; nigūhantīm—trying to cover; vrīḍayā—out of shyness; gaja-gāminīm—walking just like a great elephant. TRANSLATION With the end of her sārī the woman was trying to cover her breasts, which were equally round and well placed side by side. She again and again tried to cover them out of shyness while she walked exactly like a great elephant. PURPORT The two breasts represent attachment and envy. The symptoms of rāga and dveṣa (attachment and envy) are described in Bhagavad-gītā (3.34): indriyasyendriyasyārthe rāga-dveṣau vyavasthitau tayor na vaśam āgacchet tau hy asya paripanthinau “Attraction and repulsion for sense objects are felt by embodied beings, but one should not fall under the control of senses and sense objects because they are stumbling blocks on the path of self-realization.” These representatives of attachment and envy are very much unfavorable for advancement in spiritual life. One should not be attracted by the breasts of young women. The great saint Śaṅkarācārya has described the breasts of women, especially young women, as nothing but a combination of muscles and blood, so one should not be attracted by the illusory energy of raised breasts with nipples. They are agents of māyā meant to victimize the opposite sex. Because the breasts are equally attractive, they are described as sama-vṛttau. The sex impulse remains in an old man’s heart also, even up to the point of death. To be rid of such agitation, one must be very much advanced in spiritual consciousness, like Yāmunācārya, who said: yad-avadhi mama cetaḥ kṛṣṇa-pādāravinde nava-nava-rasa-dhāmany udyataṁ rantum āsīt tad-avadhi bata nārī-saṅgame smaryamāṇe bhavati mukha-vikāraḥ suṣṭhu niṣṭhīvanaṁ ca “Since I have been engaged in the transcendental loving service of Kṛṣṇa, realizing ever-new pleasure in Him, whenever I think of sex pleasure, I spit at the thought, and my lips curl with distaste.” When one is spiritually advanced he can no longer be attracted by the lumps of flesh and blood which are the breasts of young women. The word nirantarau is significant because although the breasts are situated in different locations, the action is the same. We should not make any distinction between attachment and envy. As described in Bhagavad-gītā (3.37), they are both products of rajo-guṇa (kāma eṣa krodha eṣa rajo-guṇa-samudbhavaḥ). The word nigūhantīm (“trying to cover”) indicates that even if one is tainted by kāma, lobha, krodha, etc., they can be transfigured by Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In other words, one can utilize kāma (lust) for serving Kṛṣṇa. Being impelled by lust, an ordinary worker will work hard day and night; similarly a devotee can work hard day and night to satisfy Kṛṣṇa. Just as karmīs are working hard to satisfy kāma-krodha, a devotee should work in the same way to satisfy Kṛṣṇa. Similarly, krodha (anger) can also be used in the service of Kṛṣṇa when it is applied to the nondevotee demons. Hanumānjī applied his anger in this way. He was a great devotee of Lord Rāmacandra, and he utilized his anger to set fire to the kingdom of Rāvaṇa, a nondevotee demon. Thus kāma (lust) can be utilized to satisfy Kṛṣṇa, and krodha (anger) can be utilized to punish the demons. When both are used for Kṛṣṇa’s service, they lose their material significance and become spiritually important. |
TEXT 26 k-a Tv& k-ÅPal/aXaai+a k-SYaaSaqh ku-Ta" SaiTa ) wMaaMauPa Paurq& >aqå ik&- ick-IzRiSa Xa&Sa Mae )) 26 )) kā tvaṁ kañja-palāśākṣi kasyāsīha kutaḥ sati imām upa purīṁ bhīru kiṁ cikīrṣasi śaṁsa me SYNONYMS kā—who; tvam—you; kañja-palāśa—like the petals of the lotus; akṣi—eyes; kasya—whose; asi—you are; iha—here; kutaḥ—wherefrom; sati—O chaste one; imām—this; upa—near; purīm—city; bhīru—O timid one; kim—what; cikīrṣasi—you are trying to do; śaṁsa—kindly explain; me—unto me. TRANSLATION My dear lotus-eyed, kindly explain to me where you are coming from, who you are, and whose daughter you are. You appear very chaste. What is the purpose of your coming here? What are you trying to do? Please explain all these things to me. PURPORT The first aphorism in the Vedānta-sūtra is |
TEXT 31 TvdaNaNa& Sau>a]u SauTaarl/aecNa& VYaal/iMbNaql/al/k-v*NdSa&v*TaMa( ) oàqYa Mae dXaRYa vLGauvack&- Yad(v]q@Yaa Naai>aMau%& éuiciSMaTae )) 31 )) tvad-ānanaṁ subhru sutāra-locanaṁ vyālambi-nīlālaka-vṛnda-saṁvṛtam unnīya me darśaya valgu-vācakaṁ yad vrīḍayā nābhimukhaṁ śuci-smite SYNONYMS tvat—your; ānanam—face; su-bhru—having nice eyebrows; su-tāra—with nice pupils; locanam—eyes; vyālambi—scattered; nīla—bluish; alaka-vṛnda—by locks of hair; saṁvṛtam—surrounded; unnīya—having raised; me—unto me; darśaya—show; valgu-vācakam—having words very sweet to hear; yat—which face; vrīḍayā—by shyness; na—not; abhimukham—face to face; śuci-smite—O woman with lovely smiles. TRANSLATION My dear girl, your face is so beautiful with your nice eyebrows and eyes and with your bluish hair scattered about. In addition, very sweet sounds are coming from your mouth. Nonetheless, you are so covered with shyness that you do not see me face to face. I therefore request you, my dear girl, to smile and kindly raise your head to see me. PURPORT Such a speech is typical of a living entity attracted by the opposite sex. This is called bewilderment occasioned by becoming conditioned by material nature. When thus attracted by the beauty of the material energy, one becomes very eager to enjoy. This is elaborately described in this instance of Purañjana’s becoming attracted by the beautiful woman. In conditional life the living entity is attracted by a face, eyebrows or eyes, a voice or anything. In short, everything becomes attractive. When a man or a woman is attracted by the opposite sex, it does not matter whether the opposite sex is beautiful or not. The lover sees everything beautiful in the face of the beloved and thus becomes attracted. This attraction causes the living entity to fall down in this material world. This is described in Bhagavad-gītā (7.27): icchā-dveṣa-samutthena dvandva-mohena bhārata sarva-bhūtāni sammohaṁ sarge yānti parantapa “O scion of Bharata [Arjuna], O conqueror of the foe, all living entities are born into delusion, overcome by the dualities of desire and hate.” This condition of life is called avidyā. Opposed to this avidyā is real knowledge. Śrī Īśopaniṣad distinguishes between vidyā and avidyā, knowledge and ignorance. By avidyā (ignorance) one becomes conditioned, and by vidyā (knowledge) one becomes liberated. Purañjana admits herein that he is attracted by avidyā. Now he wishes to see the complete feature of avidyā and so requests the girl to raise her head so that he can see her face to face. He thus wishes to see the various features that make avidyā attractive. |
TEXT 32 Naard ovac wTQa& PaurÅNa& Naarq YaacMaaNaMaDaqrvTa( ) A>YaNaNdTa Ta& vqr& hSaNTaq vqr MaaeihTaa )) 32 )) nārada uvāca itthaṁ purañjanaṁ nārī yācamānam adhīravat abhyanandata taṁ vīraṁ hasantī vīra mohitā SYNONYMS nāradaḥ uvāca—the great sage Nārada continued to speak; ittham—upon this; purañjanam—unto Purañjana; nārī—the woman; yācamānam—begging; adhīra-vat—being too impatient; abhyanandata—she addressed; tam—him; vīram—the hero; hasantī—smiling; vīra—O hero; mohitā—being attracted by him. TRANSLATION Nārada continued: My dear King, when Purañjana became so attracted and impatient to touch the girl and enjoy her, the girl also became attracted by his words and accepted his request by smiling. By this time she was certainly attracted by the King. PURPORT By this incident we can understand that when a man is aggressive and begins to woo a woman, the woman becomes attracted to the man. This process is described in the Bhāgavatam (5.5.8) as puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etam. This attraction is enacted on the platform of sexual life. Thus the sex impulse is the platform of material engagement. This conditional life, the platform of material sense enjoyment, is the cause of forgetfulness of spiritual life. In this way a living entity’s original Kṛṣṇa consciousness becomes covered or converted into material consciousness. Thus one engages in the business of sense gratification. |
TEXT 34 whaÛ SaNTaMaaTMaaNa& ivdaMa Na TaTa" ParMa( ) YaeNaeYa& iNaiMaRTaa vqr Paurq Xar<aMaaTMaNa" )) 34 )) ihādya santam ātmānaṁ vidāma na tataḥ param yeneyaṁ nirmitā vīra purī śaraṇam ātmanaḥ SYNONYMS iha—here; adya—today; santam—existing; ātmānam—living entities; vidāma—that much we know; na—not; tataḥ param—beyond that; yena—by whom; iyam—this; nirmitā—created; vīra—O great hero; purī—city; śaraṇam—resting place; ātmanaḥ—of all living entities. TRANSLATION O great hero, we only know that we are existing in this place. We do not know what will come after. Indeed, we are so foolish that we do not care to understand who has created this beautiful place for our residence. PURPORT This lack of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is called ignorance. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.5.5) it is called parābhavas tāvad abodha jātaḥ. Everyone is born ignorant. The Bhāgavatam therefore says that we are all born ignorant within this material world. In our ignorance we may create nationalism, philanthropy, internationalism, science, philosophy and so many other things. The basic principle behind all these is ignorance. What then is the value of all this advancement of knowledge if the basic principle is ignorance? Unless a person comes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, all of his activities are defeated. This human form of life is especially meant to dissipate ignorance, but without understanding how to dissipate ignorance people are planning and building many things. After death, however, all of this is finished. |
TEXT 36 idíyaGaTaae_iSa >ad]& Tae Ga]aMYaaNa( k-aMaaNa>aqPSaSae ) oÜihZYaaiMa Taa&STae_h& SvbNDaui>arirNdMa )) 36 )) diṣṭyāgato ’si bhadraṁ te grāmyān kāmān abhīpsase udvahiṣyāmi tāṁs te ’haṁ sva-bandhubhir arindama SYNONYMS diṣṭyā—fortunately for me; āgataḥ asi—you have come here; bhadram—all auspiciousness; te—unto you; grāmyān—sensual; kāmān—desired enjoyable objects; abhīpsase—you want to enjoy; udvahiṣyāmi—I shall supply; tān—all of them; te—unto you; aham—I; sva-bandhubhiḥ—with all my friends; arim-dama—O killer of the enemy. TRANSLATION O killer of the enemy, you have somehow or other come here. This is certainly great fortune for me. I wish all auspicious things for you. You have a great desire to satisfy your senses, and all my friends and I shall try our best in all respects to fulfill your desires. PURPORT The living entity comes down into this material world for sense gratification, and his intelligence, represented by the woman, gives him the proper direction by which he can satisfy his senses to their best capacity. In actuality, however, intelligence comes from the Supersoul, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and He gives full facility to the living entity who has come down to this material world. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (2.41): vyavasāyātmikā buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana bahu-śākhā hy anantāś ca buddhayo ’vyavasāyinām “Those who are on the spiritual path are resolute in purpose, and their aim is one. O beloved child of the Kurus, the intelligence of those who are irresolute is many-branched.” When a devotee is advancing toward spiritual realization, his only aim is the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He does not care for any other material or spiritual activity. King Purañjana represents the ordinary living entity, and the woman represents the ordinary living entity’s intelligence. Combined, the living entity enjoys his material senses, and the intelligence supplies all paraphernalia for his enjoyment. As soon as he enters the human form, the living entity is entrapped by a family tradition, nationality, customs, etc. These are all supplied by the māyā of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus the living entity, under the bodily conception of life, utilizes his intelligence to his best capacity in order to satisfy his senses. |
DaMaaeR ù}aaQaRk-aMaaE c Pa[JaaNaNdae_Ma*Ta& YaXa" ) l/aek-a ivXaaek-a ivrJaa YaaNa( Na ke-vil/Naae ivdu" )) 39 )) dharmo hy atrārtha-kāmau ca prajānando ’mṛtaṁ yaśaḥ lokā viśokā virajā yān na kevalino viduḥ SYNONYMS dharmaḥ—religious ritual; hi—certainly; atra—here (in this gṛhastha-āśrama, or householder life); artha—economic development; kāmau—sense gratification; ca—and; prajā-ānandaḥ—the pleasure of generations; amṛtam—the results of sacrifice; yaśaḥ—reputation; lokāḥ—planetary systems; viśokāḥ—without lamentation; virajāḥ—without disease; yān—which; na—never; kevalinaḥ—the transcendentalists; viduḥ—know. TRANSLATION The woman continued: In this material world, a householder’s life brings all kinds of happiness in religion, economic development, sense gratification and the begetting of children, sons and grandsons. After that, one may desire liberation as well as material reputation. The householder can appreciate the results of sacrifices, which enable him to gain promotion to superior planetary systems. All this material happiness is practically unknown to the transcendentalists. They cannot even imagine such happiness. PURPORT According to Vedic instructions, there are two paths for human activities. One is called pravṛtti-mārga, and the other is called nivṛtti-mārga. The basic principle for either of these paths is religious life. In animal life there is only pravṛtti-mārga. Pravṛtti-mārga means sense enjoyment, and nivṛtti-mārga means spiritual advancement. In the life of animals and demons, there is no conception of nivṛtti-mārga, nor is there any actual conception of pravṛtti-mārga. pravṛtti-mārga maintains that even though one has the propensity for sense gratification, he can gratify his senses according to the directions of the Vedic injunctions. For example, everyone has the propensity for sex life, but in demoniac civilization sex is enjoyed without restriction. According to Vedic culture, sex is enjoyed under Vedic instructions. Thus the Vedas give direction to civilized human beings to enable them to satisfy their propensities for sense gratification. In the nivṛtti-mārga, however, on the path of transcendental realization, sex is completely forbidden. The social orders are divided into four parts—brahmacarya, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsa—and only in the householder life can the pravṛtti-mārga be encouraged or accepted according to Vedic instructions. In the orders of brahmacarya, vānaprastha and sannyāsa, there are no facilities for sex. In this verse the woman is advocating pravṛtti-mārga only and is discouraging the path of nivṛtti-mārga. She clearly says that the yatis, the transcendentalists, who are concerned only with spiritual life (kaivalya), cannot imagine the happiness of pravṛtti-mārga. In other words, the man who follows the Vedic principles enjoys the materialistic way of life not only by becoming happy in this life, but also in the next life by being promoted to the heavenly planets. In this life such a person gets all kinds of material opulences, such as sons and grandsons, because he is always engaged in various religious functions. The material distresses are birth, old age, disease and death, but those who are interested in pravṛtti-mārga hold various religious functions at the time of birth, old age, disease and death. Without caring for the distresses of birth, old age, disease and death, they are addicted to performing the special functions according to the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies. Factually, however, pravṛtti-mārga is based on sex life. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.9.45), yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham. A householder who is too much addicted to pravṛtti-mārga is actually called a gṛhamedhī, not a gṛhastha. Although the gṛhastha desires sense gratification, he acts according to Vedic instructions. The gṛhamedhī, however, who is interested only in sense gratification, does not follow any Vedic instruction. The gṛhamedhī engages himself as an advocate of sex life and also allows his sons and daughters to engage in sex and to be deprived of any glorious end in life. A gṛhastha enjoys sex life in this life as well as in the next, but a gṛhamedhī does not know what the next life is about because he is simply interested in sex in this life. On the whole, when one is too much inclined toward sex, he does not care for the transcendental spiritual life. In this age of Kali especially, no one is interested in spiritual advancement. Even though it is sometimes found that one may be interested in spiritual advancement, he is most likely to accept a bogus method of spiritual life, being misguided by so many pretenders. |
TEXT 40 iPaTa*devizRMaTYaaRNaa& >aUTaaNaaMaaTMaNaê h ) +aeMYa& vdiNTa Xar<a& >ave_iSMaNa( Yad( Ga*haé[Ma" )) 40 )) pitṛ-devarṣi-martyānāṁ bhūtānām ātmanaś ca ha kṣemyaṁ vadanti śaraṇaṁ bhave ’smin yad gṛhāśramaḥ SYNONYMS pitṛ—forefathers; deva—demigods; ṛṣi—sages; martyānām—of humanity in general; bhūtānām—of the infinite living entities; ātmanaḥ—of oneself; ca—also; ha—certainly; kṣemyam—beneficial; vadanti—they say; śaraṇam—shelter; bhave—in the material world; asmin—this; yat—that which; gṛha-āśramaḥ—householder life. TRANSLATION The woman continued: According to authorities, the householder life is pleasing not only to oneself but to all the forefathers, demigods, great sages, saintly persons and everyone else. A householder life is thus beneficial. PURPORT According to the Vedic system, when one is born in this material world he has many obligations. He has obligations to the demigods—the demigods of the sun and moon, King Indra, Varuṇa, etc.—because they are supplying the necessities of life. We receive heat, light, water and all other natural amenities through the mercy of the demigods. We are also indebted to our forefathers, who have given us these bodies, paternal property, intelligence, society, friendship and love. Similarly, we are indebted to the general public for politics and sociology, and we are also indebted to lower animals such as horses, cows, asses, dogs and cats. In this way, as soon as one is born in this material world as a human being, he has so many obligations and is bound to repay all these obligations. If he does not repay them, he is further entangled in the process of birth and death. The gṛhamedhī, however, who is overly addicted to material things, does not know that if he simply takes shelter at the lotus feet of Mukunda, he is immediately freed from all obligations to others. Unfortunately a gṛhamedhī does not have any interest in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Prahlāda Mahārāja says: matir na kṛṣṇe parataḥ svato vā mitho ’bhipadyeta gṛha-vratānām (Bhāg. 7.5.30) A gṛha-vrata is the same as a gṛhamedhī. One who takes sex life to be supreme finds action in Kṛṣṇa consciousness confusing. Either due to his own personal consideration or due to his having taken instructions from others or conferring with them, he becomes addicted to sexual indulgence and cannot act in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. |
TEXT 51 devhUNaaRMa PauYaaR Üa otare<a PaurÅNa" ) raí\MautarPaÄal&/ YaaiTa é[uTaDaraiNvTa" )) 51 )) devahūr nāma puryā dvā uttareṇa purañjanaḥ rāṣṭram uttara-pañcālaṁ yāti śrutadharānvitaḥ SYNONYMS devahūḥ—of the name Devahū; nāma—as it was called; puryāḥ—of the city; dvāḥ—gate; uttareṇa—on the northern side; purañjanaḥ—King Purañjana; rāṣṭram—country; uttara—northern; pañcālam—of the name Pañcāla; yāti—used to go; śruta-dhara-anvitaḥ—with his friend Śrutadhara. TRANSLATION On the northern side was the gate named Devahū. Through that gate, King Purañjana used to go with his friend Śrutadhara to the place known as Uttara-pañcāla. PURPORT The two ears are situated on the northern side and the southern side. The ear on the southern side is very strong and is always anxious to hear about sense enjoyment. The ear on the northern side, however, is used for taking initiation from the spiritual master and for gaining promotion to the spiritual sky. The right ear, or the ear on the southern side, is called Pitṛhū, which indicates that it is used for attaining the higher planetary systems known as Pitṛloka, but the left ear, which is known as Devahū, is utilized for hearing about even higher planetary systems, such as Maharloka, Tapoloka and Brahmaloka—or yet even higher planets, situated in the spiritual universe, where one becomes more inclined to be permanently situated. This is explained in Bhagavad-gītā (9.25): yānti deva-vratā devān pitṝn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ bhūtāni yānti bhūtejyā yānti mad-yājino ’pi mām “Those who worship the demigods will take birth among the demigods; those who worship ghosts and spirits will take birth among such beings; those who worship ancestors go to the ancestors; and those who worship Me will live with Me.” One who is interested in being happy on this planet as well as after death generally wants to be elevated to the Pitṛlokas. Such a person can use the right ear for hearing Vedic instructions. However, one who is interested in going to Tapoloka, Brahmaloka, the Vaikuṇṭha planets or Kṛṣṇaloka may take initiation from the spiritual master in order to be elevated to such lokas. |
TEXT 52 AaSaurq NaaMa Paêad( ÜaSTaYaa YaaiTa PaurÅNa" ) Ga]aMak&- NaaMa ivzYa& duMaRdeNa SaMaiNvTa" )) 52 )) āsurī nāma paścād dvās tayā yāti purañjanaḥ grāmakaṁ nāma viṣayaṁ durmadena samanvitaḥ SYNONYMS āsurī—of the name Āsurī; nāma—called; paścāt—on the western side; dvāḥ—gate; tayā—by which; yāti—used to go; purañjanaḥ—King Purañjana; grāmakam—of the name Grāmaka; nāma—called; viṣayam—the city of sense enjoyment; durmadena—by Durmada; samanvitaḥ—accompanied. TRANSLATION On the western side was a gate named Āsurī. Through that gate King Purañjana used to go to the city of Grāmaka, accompanied by his friend Durmada. PURPORT The gate on the western side of the city was known as Āsurī because it was especially meant for the asuras. The word asura refers to those who are interested in sense gratification, specifically in sex life, to which they are overly attracted. Thus Purañjana, the living entity, enjoys himself to his greatest satisfaction by means of the genitals. Consequently he used to go to the place known as Grāmaka. Material sense gratification is also called grāmya, and the place where sex life is indulged in to a great extent is called Grāmaka. When going to Grāmaka, Purañjana used to be accompanied by his friend Durmada. The word viṣaya refers to the four bodily necessities of life—eating, sleeping, mating and defending. The word durmadena may be analyzed in this way: dur means duṣṭa, or “sinful,” and mada means “madness.” Every living entity who is in contact with material nature is called mada, or mad. It is said: piśācī pāile yena mati-cchanna haya māyā-grasta jīvera haya se bhāva udaya (Prema-vivarta) When a person is haunted, he becomes practically insane. When one is in an insane condition, he speaks all kinds of nonsense. Thus to become engaged in sense gratification, one has to accept a friend who is durmada, or badly affected by the material disease. The words āsurī nāma paścād dvāḥ are significant in another sense. The sunrise is first visible from the eastern side—the Bay of Bengal—and gradually it progresses toward the west. It is practically experienced that people in the West are more addicted to sense gratification. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself has certified: paścimera loka saba mūḍha anācāra (Cc. Ādi 10.89). The more one goes to the western side, the more he will find people disinterested in spiritual life. He will find them behaving against the Vedic standards. Because of this, people living in the West are more addicted to sense gratification. In this Bhāgavatam it is confirmed: āsurī nāma paścād dvāḥ. In other words, the population on the western side is interested in an asuric civilization, that is, a materialistic way of life. Lord Caitanya consequently wanted this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement to be preached on the western side of the world so that people addicted to sense gratification might be benefited by His teachings. |
TEXT 55 Sa YaùRNTa"PaurGaTaae ivzUcqNaSaMaiNvTa" ) Maaeh& Pa[Saad& hz| va YaaiTa JaaYaaTMaJaaeÙvMa( )) 55 )) sa yarhy antaḥpura-gato viṣūcīna-samanvitaḥ mohaṁ prasādaṁ harṣaṁ vā yāti jāyātmajodbhavam SYNONYMS saḥ—he; yarhi—when; antaḥ-pura—to his private home; gataḥ—used to go; viṣūcīna—by the mind; samanvitaḥ—accompanied; moham—illusion; prasādam—satisfaction; harṣam—happiness; vā—or; yāti—used to enjoy; jāyā—wife; ātma-ja—children; udbhavam—produced by them. TRANSLATION Sometimes he used to go to his private home with one of his chief servants [the mind], who was named Viṣūcīna. At that time, illusion, satisfaction and happiness used to be produced from his wife and children. PURPORT According to the Vedic conclusion, one’s self is situated within the heart. As stated in Vedic language, hṛdy ayam ātmā pratiṣṭhitaḥ: the self is situated within the heart. In the material condition, however, the spirit soul is covered by the material qualities—namely goodness, passion and darkness—and within the heart these three qualities react. For instance, when one is in goodness, he feels happiness; when one is in passion, he feels satisfaction through material enjoyment; and when one is in darkness, he feels bewilderment. All these activities are of the mind, and they function on the platform of thinking, feeling and willing. When the living entity is encircled by wife, children and home, he acts on the mental plane. Sometimes he is very happy, sometimes he is very much satisfied, sometimes he is not satisfied, and sometimes he is bewildered. Bewilderment is called moha, illusion. Illusioned by society, friendship and love, the living entity thinks that his so-called society, friendship and love, nationality, community, etc. will give him protection. He does not know that after death he will be thrown into the hands of a very strong material nature that will force him to accept a certain type of body according to his present work. This body may not even be a human body. Thus the living entity’s feeling of security in this life in the midst of society, wife and friendship is nothing but illusion. All living entities encaged in various material bodies are illusioned by the present activities of material enjoyment. They forget their real business, which is to go back home, back to Godhead. Everyone who is not in Kṛṣṇa consciousness must be considered to be in illusion. One’s so-called feelings of happiness and satisfaction resulting from material things are also illusions. Factually neither society, friendship, love nor anything else can save one from the onslaught of the external energy, which is symptomized by birth, death, old age and disease. To get even one living entity out of the illusory condition is very difficult; therefore Lord Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (7.14): daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te “This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.” Therefore, unless one surrenders completely at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, he cannot get out of the entanglement of the three modes of material nature. |
ivPa[l/BDaae MaihZYaEv& SavRPa[k*-iTaviÄTa" ) NaeC^àNauk-raeTYaj" (c)E-BYaaT§-I@aMa*Gaae YaQaa )) 62 )) vipralabdho mahiṣyaivaṁ sarva-prakṛti-vañcitaḥ necchann anukaroty ajñaḥ klaibyāt krīḍā-mṛgo yathā SYNONYMS vipralabdhaḥ—captivated; mahiṣyā—by the Queen; evam—thus; sarva—all; prakṛti—existence; vañcitaḥ—being cheated; na icchan—without desiring; anukaroti—used to follow and imitate; ajñaḥ—the foolish King; klaibyāt—by force; krīḍā-mṛgaḥ—a pet animal; yathā—just like. TRANSLATION In this way, King Purañjana was captivated by his nice wife and was thus cheated. Indeed, he became cheated in his whole existence in the material world. Even against that poor foolish King’s desire, he remained under the control of his wife, just like a pet animal that dances according to the order of its master. PURPORT The word vipralabdhaḥ is very significant in this verse. Vi means “specifically,” and pralabdha means “obtained.” Just to satisfy his desires, the King got the Queen, and thus he became cheated by material existence. Although he was not willing to do so, he remained a pet animal under the control of material intelligence. Just as a pet monkey dances according to the desires of its master, the King danced according to the desires of the Queen. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.5.2) it is said, mahat-sevāṁ dvāram āhur vimukteḥ: if one associates with a saintly person, a devotee, one’s path of liberation becomes clear. But if one associates with a woman or with a person who is too much addicted to a woman, his path of bondage becomes completely clear. On the whole, for spiritual advancement, one must give up the company of women. This is what is meant by the order of sannyāsa, the renounced order. Before taking sannyāsa, or completely renouncing the material world, one has to practice avoiding illicit sex. Sex life, licit or illicit, is practically the same, but through illicit sex one becomes more and more captivated. By regulating one’s sex life there is a chance that one may eventually be able to renounce sex or renounce the association of women. If this can be done, advancement in spiritual life comes very easily. How one becomes captivated by the association of one’s dear wife is explained in this chapter by Nārada Muni. Attraction for one’s wife means attraction for the material qualities. One who is attracted by the material quality of darkness is in the lowest stage of life, whereas one who is attracted by the material quality of goodness is in a better position. Sometimes we see that when a person is on the platform of material goodness, he is attracted more or less by the cultivation of knowledge. This is, of course, a better position, for knowledge gives one the preference to accept devotional service. Unless one comes to the platform of knowledge, the brahma-bhūta stage, one cannot advance in devotional service. As Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (18.54): brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām “One who is thus transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman and becomes fully joyful. He never laments nor desires to have anything; he is equally disposed to every living entity. In that state he attains pure devotional service unto Me.” The platform of knowledge is advantageous because it is a means by which one may come to the stage of devotional service. However, if one takes to devotional service directly, knowledge is revealed without separate endeavor. This is confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.7): vāsudeve bhagavati bhakti-yogaḥ prayojitaḥ janayaty āśu vairāgyaṁ jñānaṁ ca yad ahaitukam Devotional service automatically reveals actual knowledge of our material existence. One who is sufficiently intelligent immediately attains the stage of renunciation of so-called society, family and love as well as other things. As long as we are attached to society, family and love of the material world, there is no question of knowledge. Nor is there a question of devotional service. By directly taking to devotional service, however, one becomes filled with knowledge and renunciation. In this way one’s life becomes successful. Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Fourth Canto, Twenty-fifth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “The Descriptions of the Characteristics of King Purañjana.” |
Naard ovac Sa Wk-da MaheZvaSaae rQa& PaÄaìMaaéuGaMa( ) Üqz& iÜc§-Maek-a+a& i}ave<au& PaÄbNDaurMa( )) 1 )) Wk-rXMYaek-dMaNaMaek-Naq@& iÜkU-brMa( ) PaÄPa[hr<a& SaávæQa& PaÄiv§-MaMa( )) 2 )) hEMaaePaSk-rMaaåù Sv<aRvMaaR+aYaezuiDa" ) Wk-adXacMaUNaaQa" PaÄPa[SQaMaGaaÜNaMa( )) 3 )) nārada uvāca sa ekadā maheṣvāso rathaṁ pañcāśvam āśu-gam dvīṣaṁ dvi-cakram ekākṣaṁ tri-veṇuṁ pañca-bandhuram eka-raśmy eka-damanam eka-nīḍaṁ dvi-kūbaram pañca-praharaṇaṁ sapta- varūthaṁ pañca-vikramam haimopaskaram āruhya svarṇa-varmākṣayeṣudhiḥ ekādaśa-camū-nāthaḥ pañca-prastham agād vanam SYNONYMS nāradaḥ uvāca—Nārada said; saḥ—King Purañjana; ekadā—once upon a time; mahā-iṣvāsaḥ—carrying his strong bow and arrows; ratham—chariot; pañca-aśvam—five horses; āśu-gam—going very swiftly; dvi-īṣam—two arrows; dvi-cakram—two wheels; eka—one; akṣam—axle; tri—three; veṇum—flags; pañca—five; bandhuram—obstacles; eka—one; raśmi—rope, rein; eka—one; damanam—chariot driver; eka—one; nīḍam—sitting place; dvi—two; kūbaram—posts to which the harnesses are fixed; pañca—five; praharaṇam—weapons; sapta—seven; varūtham—coverings or ingredients of the body; pañca—five; vikramam—processes; haima—golden; upaskaram—ornaments; āruhya—riding on; svarṇa—golden; varmā—armor; akṣaya—inexhaustible; iṣu-dhiḥ—quiver; ekādaśa—eleven; camū-nāthaḥ—commanders; pañca—five; prastham—destinations, objectives; agāt—went; vanam—to the forest. TRANSLATION The great sage Nārada continued: My dear King, once upon a time King Purañjana took up his great bow, and equipped with golden armor and a quiver of unlimited arrows and accompanied by eleven commanders, he sat on his chariot driven by five swift horses and went to the forest named Pañca-prastha. He took with him in that chariot two explosive arrows. The chariot itself was situated on two wheels and one revolving axle. On the chariot were three flags, one rein, one chariot driver, one sitting place, two poles to which the harness was fixed, five weapons and seven coverings. The chariot moved in five different styles, and five obstacles lay before it. All the decorations of the chariot were made of gold. PURPORT These three verses explain how the material body of the living entity is under the control of the three qualities of the external energy. The body itself is the chariot, and the living entity is the owner of the body, as explained in Bhagavad-gītā (2.13): dehino ’smin yathā dehe. The owner of the body is called the dehī, and he is situated within this body, specifically within the heart. The living entity is driven by one chariot driver. The chariot itself is made of three guṇas, three qualities of material nature, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (18.61): yantrārūḍhāni māyayā. The word yantra means “carriage.” The body is given by material nature, and the driver of that body is Paramātmā, the Supersoul. The living entity is seated within the chariot. This is the actual position. The living entity is always being influenced by the three qualities—sattva (goodness), rajas (passion) and tamas (ignorance). This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (7.13). Tribhir guṇamayair bhāvaiḥ: the living entity is bewildered by the three qualities of material nature. These three qualities are described in this verse as three flags. By a flag, one can come to know who the owner of the chariot is; similarly, by the influence of the three qualities of material nature, one can easily know the direction in which the chariot is moving. In other words, one who has eyes to see can understand how the body is being driven, influenced by the particular type of quality of material nature. In these three verses the activity of the living entity is described to prove how the body becomes influenced by the quality of ignorance, even when a person wants to be religious. Nārada Muni wanted to prove to King Prācīnabarhiṣat that the King was being influenced by the tamo-guṇa, the quality of ignorance, even though the King was supposed to be very religious. According to karma-kāṇḍīya, the process of fruitive activities, a person performs various sacrifices directed by the Vedas, and in all those sacrifices animal-killing, or experimenting on the life of animals to test the power of Vedic mantras, is enjoined. Animal-killing is certainly conducted under the influence of the mode of ignorance. Even though one may be religiously inclined, animal sacrifice is recommended in the śāstras, not only in the Vedas but even in the modern scriptures of other sects. These animal sacrifices are recommended in the name of religion, but actually animal sacrifice is meant for persons in the mode of ignorance. When such people kill animals, they can at least do so in the name of religion. However, when the religious system is transcendental, like the Vaiṣṇava religion, there is no place for animal sacrifice. Such a transcendental religious system is recommended by Kṛṣṇa in Bhagavad-gītā (18.66): sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ “Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.” Because King Prācīnabarhiṣat was engaged in performing various sacrifices in which animals were killed, Nārada Muni pointed out that such sacrifices are influenced by the mode of ignorance. From the very beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.1.2) it is said: projjhita-kaitavo ’tra. All kinds of religious systems that are involved in cheating are completely kicked out of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. In the bhagavad-dharma, the religion dealing with one’s relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, animal sacrifice is not recommended. In the performance of saṅkīrtana-yajña—Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare—there is no recommendation for animal sacrifices. In these three verses, King Purañjana’s going to the forest to kill animals is symbolic of the living entity’s being driven by the mode of ignorance and thus engaging in different activities for sense gratification. The material body itself indicates that the living entity is already influenced by the three modes of material nature and that he is driven to enjoy material resources. When the body is influenced by the mode of ignorance, its infection becomes very acute. When it is influenced by the mode of passion, the infection is at the symptomatic stage. However, when the body is influenced by the mode of goodness, the materialistic infection becomes purified. The ritualistic ceremonies recommended in religious systems are certainly on the platform of goodness, but because within this material world even the mode of goodness is sometimes polluted by the other qualities (namely passion and ignorance), a man in goodness is sometimes driven by the influence of ignorance. It is herein described that King Purañjana once went to the forest to kill animals. This means that he, the living entity, came under the influence of the mode of ignorance. The forest in which King Purañjana engaged in hunting was named Pañca-prastha. The word pañca means “five,” and this indicates the objects of the five senses. The body has five working senses, namely the hands, the legs, the tongue, the rectum and the genitals. By taking full advantage of these working senses, the body enjoys material life. The chariot is driven by five horses, which represent the five sense organs—namely the eyes, ears, nose, skin and tongue. These sense organs are very easily attracted by the sense objects. Consequently, the horses are described as moving swiftly. On the chariot King Purañjana kept two explosive weapons, which may be compared to ahaṅkāra, or false ego. This false ego is typified by two attitudes: “I am this body” (ahantā), and “Everything in my bodily relationships belongs to me” (mamatā). The two wheels of the chariot may be compared to the two moving facilities—namely sinful life and religious life. The chariot is decorated with three flags, which represent the three modes of material nature. The five kinds of obstacles, or uneven roads, represent the five kinds of air passing within the body. These are prāṇa, apāna, udāna, samāna and vyāna. The body itself is covered by seven coverings, namely skin, muscle, fat, blood, marrow, bone and semen. The living entity is covered by three subtle material elements and five gross material elements. These are actually obstacles placed before the living entity on the path of liberation from material bondage. The word raśmi (“rope”) in this verse indicates the mind. The word nīḍa is also significant, for nīḍa indicates the nest where a bird takes rest. In this case nīḍa is the heart, where the living entity is situated. The living entity sits in one place only. The causes of his bondage are two: namely lamentation and illusion. In material existence the living entity simply hankers to get something he can never get. Therefore he is in illusion. As a result of being in this illusory situation, the living entity is always lamenting. Thus lamentation and illusion are described herein as dvi-kūbara, the two posts of bondage. The living entity carries out various desires through five different processes, which indicate the working of the five working senses. The golden ornaments and dress indicate that the living entity is influenced by the quality of rajo-guṇa, passion. One who has a good deal of money or riches is especially driven by the mode of passion. Being influenced by the mode of passion, one desires so many things for enjoyment in this material world. The eleven commanders represent the ten senses and the mind. The mind is always making plans with the ten commanders to enjoy the material world. The forest named Pañca-prastha, where the King went to hunt, is the forest of the five sense objects: form, taste, sound, smell and touch. Thus in these three verses Nārada Muni describes the position of the material body and the encagement of the living entity within it. |
TEXT 7 Ya Wv& k-MaR iNaYaTa& ivÜaNa( ku-vsTa MaaNav" ) k-MaR<aa TaeNa raJaeNd] jaNaeNa Na Sa il/PYaTae )) 7 )) ya evaṁ karma niyataṁ vidvān kurvīta mānavaḥ karmaṇā tena rājendra jñānena na sa lipyate SYNONYMS yaḥ—anyone who; evam—thus; karma—activities; niyatam—regulated; vidvān—learned; kurvīta—should perform; mānavaḥ—a human being; karmaṇā—by such activities; tena—by this; rāja-indra—O King; jñānena—by advancement of knowledge; na—never; saḥ—he; lipyate—becomes involved. TRANSLATION Nārada Muni continued to speak to King Prācīnabarhiṣat: My dear King, any person who works according to the directions of the Vedic scriptures does not become involved in fruitive activities. PURPORT Just as a government may issue trade licenses in order for its citizens to act in a certain way, the Vedas contain injunctions that restrain and regulate all of our fruitive activities. All living entities have come into this material world to enjoy themselves. Consequently, the Vedas are given to regulate sense enjoyment. One who enjoys his senses under the Vedic regulative principles does not become entangled in the actions and reactions of his activities. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (3.9), yajñārthāt karmaṇaḥ: one should act only for the performance of yajña, or to satisfy Lord Viṣṇu. Anyatra loko ’yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ: otherwise any action will produce a reaction by which the living entity will be bound. A human being is especially meant to attain liberation from the bondage of birth, death, old age and disease. He is therefore directed by the Vedic regulative principles to work in such a way that he may fulfill his desires for sense gratification and at the same time gradually become freed from material bondage. Action according to such principles is called knowledge. Indeed, the word veda means “knowledge.” The words jñānena na sa lipyate indicate that by following the Vedic principles, one does not become involved in the actions and reactions of his fruitive activities. Everyone is therefore advised to act in terms of the Vedic injunctions and not irresponsibly. When a person within a state acts according to the laws and licenses of the government, he does not become involved in criminal activities. Man-made laws, however, are always defective because they are made by men who are prone to committing mistakes, being illusioned, cheating and having imperfect senses. The Vedic instructions are different because they do not have these four defects. Vedic instructions are not subject to mistakes. The knowledge of the Vedas is knowledge received directly from God, and there is consequently no question of illusion, cheating, mistakes or imperfect senses. All Vedic knowledge is perfect because it is received directly from God by the paramparā, disciplic succession. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.1.1) it is said: tene brahma hṛdā ya ādi-kavaye. The original creature of this universe, known as the ādi-kavi, or Lord Brahmā, was instructed by Kṛṣṇa through the heart. After receiving these Vedic instructions from Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself, Brahmā distributed the knowledge by the paramparā system to Nārada, and Nārada in turn distributed the knowledge to Vyāsa. In this way Vedic knowledge is perfect. If we act according to Vedic knowledge, there is no question of being involved in sinful activities. |
TEXT 8 ANYaQaa k-MaR ku-vaR<aae MaaNaaæ!ae iNabDYaTae ) Gau<aPa[vahPaiTaTaae NaíPa[jae v]JaTYaDa" )) 8 )) anyathā karma kurvāṇo mānārūḍho nibadhyate guṇa-pravāha-patito naṣṭa-prajño vrajaty adhaḥ SYNONYMS anyathā—otherwise; karma—fruitive activities; kurvāṇaḥ—while acting; māna-ārūḍhaḥ—being influenced by false prestige; nibadhyate—one becomes entangled; guṇa-pravāha—by the influence of the material qualities; patitaḥ—fallen; naṣṭa-prajñaḥ—bereft of all intelligence; vrajati—thus he goes; adhaḥ—down. TRANSLATION Otherwise, a person who acts whimsically falls down due to false prestige. Thus he becomes involved in the laws of nature, which are composed of the three qualities [goodness, passion and ignorance]. In this way a living entity becomes devoid of his real intelligence and becomes perpetually lost in the cycle of birth and death. Thus he goes up and down from a microbe in stool to a high position in the Brahmaloka planet. PURPORT There are many important words in this verse. The first is anyathā, “otherwise,” which indicates one who does not care for the Vedic rules and regulations. The rules and regulations laid down in the Vedas are called śāstra-vidhi. Bhagavad-gītā clearly states that one who does not accept the śāstra-vidhi, or rules and regulations mentioned in the Vedic scriptures, and acts whimsically or puffed up with false pride never attains perfection in this life, nor does he attain happiness or liberation from the material condition. yaḥ śāstra-vidhim utsṛjya vartate kāma-kārataḥ na sa siddhim avāpnoti na sukhaṁ na parāṁ gatim “He who discards scriptural injunctions and acts according to his own whims attains neither perfection nor happiness nor the supreme destination.” (Bg. 16.23) Thus one who is deliberately transgressing the rules and regulations of the śāstras is simply involving himself more and more in material existence in the three modes of material nature. Human society should therefore follow the Vedic principles of life, which are summarized in Bhagavad-gītā. Otherwise life in material existence will continue. Foolish persons do not know that the soul is passing through 8,400,000 spieces of life. By the gradual process of evolution, when one comes to the human form of life, he is supposed to follow the rules and regulations laid down in the Vedas. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu says that the living entity, since time immemorial, is suffering the threefold miseries of material nature due to his demoniac attitude, which is his spirit of revolt against the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Kṛṣṇa also confirms this in Bhagavad-gītā (15.7): mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati “The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal, fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind.” Every living entity is part and parcel of God. There is no reason for the living entity’s being put into the miserable threefold condition of material existence but that he voluntarily accepts material existence on the false pretext of becoming an enjoyer. To save him from this horrible condition, the Lord has given all the Vedic literatures in His incarnation of Vyāsadeva. It is therefore said: kṛṣṇa bhuli’ sei jīva anādi-bahirmukha ataeva māyā tāre deya saṁsāra-duḥkha “By forgetting Kṛṣṇa, the living entity has become materialistic since time immemorial. Therefore the illusory energy of Kṛṣṇa is giving him different types of miseries in material existence.” (Cc. Madhya 20.117) māyā-mugdha jīvera nāhi svataḥ kṛṣṇa-jñāna jīvere kṛpāya kailā kṛṣṇa veda-purāṇa “When a living entity is enchanted by the external energy, he cannot revive his original Kṛṣṇa consciousness independently. Due to such circumstances, Kṛṣṇa has kindly given him the Vedic literatures, such as the four Vedas and eighteen Purāṇas.” (Cc. Madhya 20.122) Every human being should therefore take advantage of the Vedic instructions; otherwise one will be bound by his whimsical activities and will be without any guide. The word mānārūḍhaḥ is also very significant in this verse. Under the pretext of becoming great philosophers and scientists, men throughout the whole world are working on the mental platform. Such men are generally nondevotees, due to not caring for the instructions given by the Lord to the first living creature, Lord Brahmā. The Bhāgavatam (5.18.12) therefore says: harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā mano-rathenāsati dhāvato bahiḥ A person who is a nondevotee has no good qualifications because he acts on the mental platform. One who acts on the mental platform has to change his standard of knowledge periodically. We consequently see that one philosopher may disagree with another philosopher, and one scientist may put forward a theory contradicting the theory of another scientist. All of this is due to their working on the mental platform without a standard of knowledge. In the Vedic instructions, however, the standard of knowledge is accepted, even though it may sometimes appear that the statements are contradictory. Because the Vedas are the standard of knowledge, even though they may appear contradictory, they should be accepted. If one does not accept them, he will be bound by the material conditions. The material conditions are described in this verse as guṇa-pravāha, the flowing of the three modes of material nature. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura therefore says in a song, miche māyāra vaśe, yāccha bhese’, khāccha hābuḍubu, bhāi: “Why are you suffering? Why are you sometimes being drowned in the waves of material nature and sometimes coming to the surface?” Jīva kṛṣṇa-dāsa, ei viśvāsa, karle ta’ āra duḥkha nāi: “Please therefore accept yourself as the servant of Kṛṣṇa. Then you will be freed from all miseries.” As soon as one surrenders to Kṛṣṇa and accepts the perfect standard of knowledge, which is Bhagavad-gītā as it is, he then comes out of the material modes of nature and does not fall down and lose his knowledge. Naṣṭa-prajñaḥ. The word prajña means “perfect knowledge,” and naṣṭa-prajña means “one who has no perfect knowledge.” One who does not have perfect knowledge has only mental speculation. By such mental speculation one falls down and down into a hellish condition of life. By transgressing the laws laid down in the śāstras, one cannot become pure in heart. When one’s heart is not purified, one acts according to the three material modes of nature. These activities are very nicely explained in verses 1 through 6 of the Seventeenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā. Bhagavad-gītā (2.45) further explains: traiguṇya-viṣayā vedā nistraiguṇyo bhavārjuna nirdvandvo nitya-sattva-stho niryoga-kṣema ātmavān “The Vedas mainly deal with the subject of the three modes of material nature. Rise above these modes, O Arjuna. Be transcendental to all of them. Be free from all dualities and from all anxieties for gain and safety, and be established in the Self.” The entire world and all material knowledge is within the three modes of material nature. One has to transcend these modes, and to attain that platform of transcendence one must follow the instruction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and thus become perfect in life. Otherwise one will be knocked down by the waves of the material nature’s three modes. This is further explained in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.5.30) in the words of Prahlāda Mahārāja: matir na kṛṣṇe parataḥ svato vā mitho ’bhipadyeta gṛha-vratānām adānta-gobhir viśatāṁ tamisraṁ punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām Materialistic persons, who are too much engaged in material enjoyment and who do not know anything beyond their material experiences, are carried by the whims of material nature. They live a life characterized by chewing the chewed, and they are controlled by their uncontrolled senses. Thus they go down to the darkest regions of hellish life. |
TEXT 11 TaTa" +auta*$(Pairé[aNTaae iNav*taae Ga*hMaeiYavaNa( ) k*-TaòaNaaeicTaahar" Sa&ivveXa GaTa(c)-Ma" )) 11 )) tataḥ kṣut-tṛṭ-pariśrānto nivṛtto gṛham eyivān kṛta-snānocitāhāraḥ saṁviveśa gata-klamaḥ SYNONYMS tataḥ—thereafter; kṣut—by hunger; tṛṭ—thirst; pariśrāntaḥ—being too fatigued; nivṛttaḥ—having ceased; gṛham eyivān—came back to his home; kṛta—taken; snāna—bath; ucita-āhāraḥ—exactly required foodstuffs; saṁviveśa—took rest; gata-klamaḥ—freed from all fatigue. TRANSLATION After this, the King, very much fatigued, hungry and thirsty, returned to his royal palace. After returning, he took a bath and had an appropriate dinner. Then he took rest and thus became freed from all restlessness. PURPORT A materialistic person works throughout the whole week very, very hard. He is always asking, “Where is money? Where is money?” Then, at the end of the week, he wants to retire from these activities and go to some secluded place to rest. King Purañjana returned to his home because he was very much fatigued from hunting animals in the forest. In this way his conscience came to stop him from committing further sinful activities and make him return home. In Bhagavad-gītā materialistic persons are described as duṣkṛtinaḥ, which indicates those who are always engaged in sinful activities. When a person comes to his senses and understands how he is engaging in sinful activities, he returns to his conscience, which is herein figuratively described as the palace. Generally a materialistic person is infected by the material modes of passion and ignorance. The results of passion and ignorance are lust and greed. In the life of a materialist, activity means working in lust and greed. However, when he comes to his senses, he wants to retire. According to Vedic civilization, such retirement is positively recommended, and this portion of life is called vānaprastha. Retirement is absolutely necessary for a materialist who wants to become free from the activities of a sinful life. King Purañjana’s coming home, taking bath and having an appropriate dinner indicate that a materialistic person must retire from sinful activities and become purified by accepting a spiritual master and hearing from him about the values of life. If one would do this, he would feel completely refreshed, just as one feels after taking a bath. After receiving initiation from a bona fide spiritual master, one must abandon all kinds of sinful activities, namely illicit sex, intoxication, gambling and meat-eating. The word ucitāhāraḥ used in this verse is important. Ucita means “appropriate.” One must eat appropriately and not take after food as hogs take after stool. For a human being there are eatables described in Bhagavad-gītā (17.8) as sāttvika-āhāra, or food in the mode of goodness. One should not indulge in eating food in the modes of passion and ignorance. This is called ucitāhāra, or appropriate eating. One who is always eating meat or drinking liquor, which is eating and drinking in passion and ignorance, must give these things up so that his real consciousness may be awakened. In this way one may become peaceful and refreshed. If one is restless or fatigued, one cannot understand the science of God. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.20): evaṁ prasanna-manaso bhagavad-bhakti-yogataḥ bhagavat-tattva-vijñānaṁ mukta-saṅgasya jāyate Unless one can become free from the influence of passion and ignorance, he cannot be pacified, and without being pacified, one cannot understand the science of God. King Purañjana’s returning home is indicative of man’s returning to his original consciousness, known as Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is absolutely necessary for one who has committed a lot of sinful activities, especially killing animals or hunting in the forest. |
Ta*áae ôí" Saud*áê k-NdPaaRk*-íMaaNaSa" ) Na VYací vraraeha& Ga*ih<aq& Ga*hMaeiDaNaqMa( )) 13 )) tṛpto hṛṣṭaḥ sudṛptaś ca kandarpākṛṣṭa-mānasaḥ na vyacaṣṭa varārohāṁ gṛhiṇīṁ gṛha-medhinīm SYNONYMS tṛptaḥ—satisfied; hṛṣṭaḥ—joyful; su-dṛptaḥ—being very proud; ca—also; kandarpa—by Cupid; ākṛṣṭa—attracted; mānasaḥ—his mind; na—did not; vyacaṣṭa—try; vara-ārohām—higher consciousness; gṛhiṇīm—wife; gṛha-medhinīm—one who keeps her husband in material life. TRANSLATION After taking his dinner and having his thirst and hunger satisfied, King Purañjana felt some joy within his heart. Instead of being elevated to a higher consciousness, he became captivated by Cupid, and was moved by a desire to find his wife, who kept him satisfied in his household life. PURPORT This verse is very significant for those desiring to elevate themselves to a higher level of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. When a person is initiated by a spiritual master, he changes his habits and does not eat undesirable eatables or engage in the eating of meat, the drinking of liquor, illicit sex or gambling. Sāttvika-āhāra, foodstuffs in the mode of goodness, are described in the śāstras as wheat, rice, vegetables, fruits, milk, sugar, and milk products. Simple food like rice, dhal, capātīs, vegetables, milk and sugar constitute a balanced diet, but sometimes it is found that an initiated person, in the name of prasāda, eats very luxurious foodstuffs. Due to his past sinful life he becomes attracted by Cupid and eats good food voraciously. It is clearly visible that when a neophyte in Kṛṣṇa consciousness eats too much, he falls down. Instead of being elevated to pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he becomes attracted by Cupid. The so-called brahmacārī becomes agitated by women, and the vānaprastha may again become captivated into having sex with his wife. Or he may begin to search out another wife. Due to some sentiment, he may give up his own wife and come into the association of devotees and a spiritual master, but due to his past sinful life he cannot stay. Instead of being elevated to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he falls down, being attracted by Cupid, and takes to another wife for sex enjoyment. The fall of the neophyte devotee from the path of Kṛṣṇa consciousness down to material life is described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.5.17) by Nārada Muni. tyaktvā sva-dharmaṁ caraṇāmbujaṁ harer bhajann apakvo ’tha patet tato yadi yatra kva vābhadram abhūd amuṣya kiṁ ko vārtha āpto ’bhajatāṁ sva-dharmataḥ This indicates that although a neophyte devotee may fall down from the path of Kṛṣṇa consciousness due to his immaturity, his service to Kṛṣṇa never goes in vain. However, a person who remains steadfast in his family duty or so-called social or family obligation but does not take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness receives no profit. One who comes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness must be very cautious and refrain from prohibited activities, as defined by Rūpa Gosvāmī in his Upadeśāmṛta (2): atyāhāraḥ prayāsaś ca prajalpo niyamāgrahaḥ jana-saṅgaś ca laulyaṁ ca ṣaḍbhir bhaktir vinaśyati A neophyte devotee should neither eat too much nor collect more money than necessary. Eating too much or collecting too much is called atyāhāra. For such atyāhāra one must endeavor very much. This is called prayāsa. Superficially one may show himself to be very much faithful to the rules and regulations, but at the same time not be fixed in the regulative principles. This is called niyamāgraha. By mixing with undesirable persons, or jana-saṅga, one becomes tainted with lust and greed and falls down from the path of devotional service. |
TEXT 14 ANTa"PauriñYaae_Pa*C^iÜMaNaa wv veidzTa( ) AiPa v" ku-Xal&/ raMaa" Saeìrq<aa& YaQaa Paura )) 14 )) antaḥpura-striyo ’pṛcchad vimanā iva vediṣat api vaḥ kuśalaṁ rāmāḥ seśvarīṇāṁ yathā purā SYNONYMS antaḥ-pura—household; striyaḥ—women; apṛcchat—he asked; vimanāḥ—being very much anxious; iva—like; vediṣat—O King Prācīnabarhi; api—whether; vaḥ—your; kuśalam—good fortune; rāmāḥ—O you beautiful women; sa-īśvarīṇām—with your mistress; yathā—as; purā—before. TRANSLATION At that time King Purañjana was a little anxious, and he inquired from the household women: My dear beautiful women, are you and your mistress all very happy like before, or not? PURPORT In this verse the word vediṣat indicates King Prācīnabarhi. When a man becomes refreshed by association with devotees and awakes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he consults the activities of his mind—namely thinking, feeling and willing—and decides whether he should return to his material activities or stay steady in spiritual consciousness. The word kuśalam refers to that which is auspicious. One can make his home perfectly auspicious when he engages in devotional service to Lord Viṣṇu. When one is engaged in activities other than viṣṇu-bhakti, or in other words when one is engaged in material activities, he is always filled with anxieties. A sane man should consult his mind, its thinking, feeling and willing processes, and decide how these processes should be utilized. If one always thinks of Kṛṣṇa, feels how to serve Him and wills to execute the order of Kṛṣṇa, it should be known that he has taken good instruction from his intelligence, which is called the mother. Although the King was refreshed, he nonetheless inquired about his wife. Thus he was consulting, thinking and willing how he could return to his steady good consciousness. The mind may suggest that by viṣaya-bhoga, or sense enjoyment, one can become happy, but when one becomes advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he does not derive happiness from material activities. This is explained in Bhagavad-gītā (2.59): viṣayā vinivartante nirāhārasya dehinaḥ rasa-varjaṁ raso ’py asya paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate “The embodied soul may be restricted from sense enjoyment, though the taste for sense objects remains. But, ceasing such engagements by experiencing a higher taste, he is fixed in consciousness.” One cannot be unattached to the sense objects unless he finds better engagement in devotional service. paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate. One can cease from material activities only when one actually engages in devotional service. |
TEXT 19 SaaNTvYaNa( ë+<aYaa vaca ôdYaeNa ivdUYaTaa ) Pa[eYaSYaa" òehSa&rM>ail/(r)MaaTMaiNa Naa>YaGaaTa( )) 19 )) sāntvayan ślakṣṇayā vācā hṛdayena vidūyatā preyasyāḥ sneha-saṁrambha- liṅgam ātmani nābhyagāt SYNONYMS sāntvayan—pacifying; ślakṣṇayā—by sweet; vācā—words; hṛdayena—with a heart; vidūyatā—regretting very much; preyasyāḥ—of his beloved; sneha—from affection; saṁrambha—of anger; liṅgam—symptom; ātmani—in her heart; na—did not; abhyagāt—arouse. TRANSLATION The King, with aggrieved mind, began to speak to his wife with very pleasing words. Although he was filled with regret and tried to pacify her, he could not see any symptom of anger caused by love within the heart of his beloved wife. PURPORT The King very much regretted having left his Queen and having gone to the forest to execute sinful activities. When a person regrets his sinful activities, the abandoning of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and good intelligence, his path of deliverance from the path of material clutches is opened. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.5.5): parābhavas tāvad abodha jāto yāvan na jijñāsata ātma-tattvam. When a person loses his Kṛṣṇa consciousness and loses interest in self-realization, he must engage in sinful activities. All one’s activities in a life devoid of Kṛṣṇa consciousness simply lead to defeat and misuse of one’s life. Naturally one who comes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness regrets his previous sinful activities in the human form. Only by this process can one be delivered from the clutches of nescience or ignorance in materialistic life. |
TEXT 20 ANauiNaNYae_Qa XaNakE-vsrae_NauNaYak-aeivd" ) PaSPaXaR PaadYauGal/Maah caeTSa(r)l/ail/TaaMa( )) 20 )) anuninye ’tha śanakair vīro ’nunaya-kovidaḥ pasparśa pāda-yugalam āha cotsaṅga-lālitām SYNONYMS anuninye—began to flatter; atha—thus; śanakaiḥ—gradually; vīraḥ—the hero; anunaya-kovidaḥ—one who is very expert in flattery; pasparśa—touched; pāda-yugalam—both the feet; āha—he said; ca—also; utsaṅga—on his lap; lālitām—thus being embraced. TRANSLATION Because the King was very expert in flattery, he began to pacify his Queen very slowly. First he touched her two feet, then embraced her nicely, seating her on his lap, and began to speak as follows. PURPORT One has to awaken his Kṛṣṇa consciousness by first regretting his past deeds. Just as King Purañjana began to flatter his Queen, one should, by deliberate consideration, raise himself to the platform of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. To attain such an end, one must touch the lotus feet of the spiritual master. Kṛṣṇa consciousness cannot be achieved by self-endeavor. One must therefore approach a self-realized, Kṛṣṇa conscious person and touch his lotus feet. Prahlāda Mahārāja therefore said: naiṣāṁ matis tāvad urukramāṅghriṁ spṛśaty anarthāpagamo yad-arthaḥ mahīyasāṁ pāda-rajo-’bhiṣekaṁ niṣkiñcanānāṁ na vṛṇīta yāvat (Bhāg. 7.5.32) One cannot come to the precincts of Kṛṣṇa consciousness unless he touches the dust of the lotus feet of a person who has become a mahātmā, a great devotee. This is the beginning of the surrendering process. Lord Kṛṣṇa wants everyone to surrender unto Him, and this surrendering process begins when one touches the lotus feet of a bona fide spiritual master. By sincerely rendering service to a bona fide spiritual master, one begins his spiritual life in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Touching the lotus feet of a spiritual master means giving up one’s false prestige and unnecessarily puffed-up position in the material world. Those who remain in the darkness of material existence due to their falsely prestigious positions—so-called scientists and philosophers—are actually atheists. They do not know the ultimate cause of everything. Although bewildered, they are not ready to surrender themselves to the lotus feet of a person who knows things in their proper perspective. In other words, one cannot arouse Kṛṣṇa consciousness simply by his own mental speculation. One must surrender to a bona fide spiritual master. Only this process will help one. |
TEXT 26 TaNMae Pa[Saqd Sauôd" k*-Taik-iLbzSYa SvEr& GaTaSYa Ma*GaYaa& VYaSaNaaTaurSYa ) k-a devr& vXaGaTa& ku-SauMaañveGa‚ ivóSTaPaaE„&òMauXaTaq Na >aJaeTa k*-TYae )) 26 )) tan me prasīda suhṛdaḥ kṛta-kilbiṣasya svairaṁ gatasya mṛgayāṁ vyasanāturasya kā devaraṁ vaśa-gataṁ kusumāstra-vega- visrasta-pauṁsnam uśatī na bhajeta kṛtye SYNONYMS tat—therefore; me—unto me; prasīda—be kind; su-hṛdaḥ—intimate friend; kṛta-kilbiṣasya—having committed sinful activities; svairam—independently; gatasya—who went; mṛgayām—hunting; vyasana-āturasya—being influenced by sinful desire; kā—what woman; devaram—the husband; vaśa-gatam—under her control; kusuma-astra-vega—pierced by the arrow of Cupid; visrasta—scattered; pauṁsnam—his patience; uśatī—very beautiful; na—never; bhajeta—would embrace; kṛtye—in proper duty. TRANSLATION My dear Queen, due to my sinful desires I went to the forest to hunt without asking you. Therefore I must admit that I have offended you. Nonetheless, thinking of me as your most intimate subordinate, you should still be very much pleased with me. Factually I am very much bereaved, but being pierced by the arrow of Cupid, I am feeling lusty. But where is the beautiful woman who would give up her lusty husband and refuse to unite with him? PURPORT Both man and woman desire one another; that is the basic principle of material existence. Women in general always keep themselves beautiful so that they can be attractive to their lusty husbands. When a lusty husband comes before his wife, the wife takes advantage of his aggressive activities and enjoys life. Generally when a woman is attacked by a man—whether her husband or some other man—she enjoys the attack, being too lusty. In other words, when one’s intelligence is properly utilized, both the intellect and the intelligent person enjoy one another with great satisfaction. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.9.45): yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tucchaṁ kaṇḍūyanena karayor iva duḥkha-duḥkham The actual happiness of the karmīs is sex life. They work very hard outside the home, and to satiate their hard labor, they come home to enjoy sex life. King Purañjana went to the forest to hunt, and after his hard labor he returned home to enjoy sex life. If a man lives outside the home and spends a week in a city or somewhere else, at the end of the week he becomes very anxious to return home and enjoy sex with his wife. This is confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham [SB 7.9.45]. Karmīs work very hard simply to enjoy sex. Modern human society has improved the materialistic way of life simply by inducing unrestricted sex life in many different ways. This is most prominently visible in the Western world. Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Fourth Canto, Twenty-sixth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “King Purañjana Goes to the Forest to Hunt, and His Queen Becomes Angry.” |
TaYaaePaGaU!" PairrBDak-NDarae rhae_NauMaN}aErPak*-íceTaNa" ) Na k-al/r&hae bubuDae durTYaYa& idva iNaXaeiTa Pa[MadaPairGa]h" )) 3 )) tayopagūḍhaḥ parirabdha-kandharo raho ’numantrair apakṛṣṭa-cetanaḥ na kāla-raṁho bubudhe duratyayaṁ divā niśeti pramadā-parigrahaḥ SYNONYMS tayā—by the Queen; upagūḍhaḥ—was embraced; parirabdha—embraced; kandharaḥ—shoulders; rahaḥ—in a solitary place; anumantraiḥ—by joking words; apakṛṣṭa-cetanaḥ—having degraded consciousness; na—not; kāla-raṁhaḥ—the passing of time; bubudhe—was aware of; duratyayam—impossible to overcome; divā—day; niśā—night; iti—thus; pramadā—by the woman; parigrahaḥ—captivated. TRANSLATION Queen Purañjanī embraced the King, and the King also responded by embracing her shoulders. In this way, in a solitary place, they enjoyed joking words. Thus King Purañjana became very much captivated by his beautiful wife and deviated from his good sense. He forgot that the passing of days and nights meant that his span of life was being reduced without profit. PURPORT The word pramadā in this verse is very significant. A beautiful wife is certainly enlivening to her husband, but at the same time is the cause of degradation. The word pramadā means “enlivening” as well as “maddening.” Generally a householder does not take the passing of days and nights very seriously. A person in ignorance takes it as the usual course that days come, and after the days, the nights come. This is the law of material nature. But a man in ignorance does not know that when the sun rises early in the morning it begins to take away the balance of his life. Thus day after day the span of one’s life is reduced, and forgetting the duty of human life, the foolish man simply remains in the company of his wife and enjoys her in a secluded place. Such a condition is called apakṛṣṭa-cetana, or degraded consciousness. Human consciousness should be used for elevation to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But when a person is too much attracted to his wife and family affairs, he does not take Kṛṣṇa consciousness very seriously. He thus becomes degraded, not knowing that he cannot buy back even a second of his life in return for millions of dollars. The greatest loss in life is passing time without understanding Kṛṣṇa. Every moment of our lives should be utilized properly, and the proper use of life is to increase devotional service to the Lord. Without devotional service to the Lord, the activities of life become simply a waste of time. Śrama eva hi kevalam. Simply by becoming “dutiful” we do not make any profit in life. As confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.8): dharmaḥ svanuṣṭhitaḥ puṁsāṁ viṣvaksena-kathāsu yaḥ notpādayed yadi ratiṁ śrama eva hi kevalam If, after performing one’s occupational duty very perfectly, one does not make progress in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, it should be understood that he has simply wasted his time in valueless labor. |
TEXT 4 XaYaaNa oàÖMadae MahaMaNaa MahahRTaLPae Maihzq>auJaaePaiDa" ) TaaMaev vqrae MaNauTae Par& YaTa‚ STaMaae_i>a>aUTaae Na iNaJa& Par& c YaTa( )) 4 )) śayāna unnaddha-mado mahā-manā mahārha-talpe mahiṣī-bhujopadhiḥ tām eva vīro manute paraṁ yatas tamo-’bhibhūto na nijaṁ paraṁ ca yat SYNONYMS śayānaḥ—lying down; unnaddha-madaḥ—increasingly illusioned; mahā-manāḥ—advanced in consciousness; mahā-arha-talpe—on a valuable bedstead; mahiṣī—of the Queen; bhuja—arms; upadhiḥ—pillow; tām—her; eva—certainly; vīraḥ—the hero; manute—he considered; param—the goal of life; yataḥ—from which; tamaḥ—by ignorance; abhibhūtaḥ—overwhelmed; na—not; nijam—his actual self; param—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; ca—and; yat—what. TRANSLATION In this way, increasingly overwhelmed by illusion, King Purañjana, although advanced in consciousness, remained always lying down with his head on the pillow of his wife’s arms. In this way he considered woman to be his ultimate life and soul. Becoming thus overwhelmed by the mode of ignorance, he could not understand the meaning of self-realization, of his self or of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. PURPORT Human life is meant for self-realization. First of all one has to realize his own self, which is described in this verse as nijam. Then he has to understand or realize the Supersoul, or Paramātmā, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. However, when one becomes too much materially attached, he takes a woman to be everything. This is the basic principle of material attachment. In such a condition, one cannot realize his own self or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.5.2) it is therefore said: mahat-sevāṁ dvāram āhur vimuktes tamo-dvāraṁ yoṣitāṁ saṅgi-saṅgam. If one associates with mahātmās, or devotees, his path of liberation is opened. But if one becomes too much attached to women or to persons who are also attached to women—that is, attached to women directly or indirectly—he opens the tamo-dvāram, the door to the darkest region of hellish life. King Purañjana was a great soul, highly intellectual and possessed of advanced consciousness, but due to his being too much addicted to women, his whole consciousness was covered. In the modern age the consciousness of people is too much covered by wine, women and flesh. Consequently, people are completely unable to make any progress in self-realization. The first step of self-realization is to know oneself as spirit soul apart from the body. In the second stage of self-realization, one comes to know that every soul, every individual living entity, is part and parcel of the Supreme Soul, Paramātmā, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (15.7): mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati “The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal, fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind.” All living entities are part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. Unfortunately, in this present civilization both men and women are allowed to be attracted to one another from the very beginning of life, and because of this they are completely unable to come to the platform of self-realization. They do not know that without self-realization they suffer the greatest loss in the human form of life. Thinking of a woman always within one’s heart is tantamount to lying down with a woman on a valuable bedstead. The heart is the bedstead, and it is the most valuable bedstead. When a man thinks of women and money, he lies down and rests on the arms of his beloved woman or wife. In this way he overindulges in sex life and thus becomes unfit for self-realization. |
TEXT 5 TaYaEv& rMaMaa<aSYa k-aMak-XMal/ceTaSa" ) +a<aaDaRiMav raJaeNd] VYaiTa§-aNTa& Nav& vYa" )) 5 )) tayaivaṁ ramamāṇasya kāma-kaśmala-cetasaḥ kṣaṇārdham iva rājendra vyatikrāntaṁ navaṁ vayaḥ SYNONYMS tayā—with her; evam—in this way; ramamāṇasya—enjoying; kāma—full of lust; kaśmala—sinful; cetasaḥ—his heart; kṣaṇa-ardham—in half a moment; iva—like; rāja-indra—O King; vyatikrāntam—expired; navam—new; vayaḥ—life. TRANSLATION My dear King Prācīnabarhiṣat, in this way King Purañjana, with his heart full of lust and sinful reactions, began to enjoy sex with his wife, and in this way his new life and youth expired in half a moment. PURPORT Śrīla Govinda dāsa Ṭhākura has sung: ei-dhana, yauvana, putra, parijana, ithe ki āche paratīti re kamala-dala-jala, jīvana ṭalamala, bhaja huṁ hari-pada nīti re In this verse Śrīla Govinda dāsa actually says that there is no bliss in the enjoyment of youthful life. In youth a person becomes very lusty to enjoy all kinds of sense objects. The sense objects are form, taste, smell, touch and sound. The modern scientific method, or advancement of scientific civilization, encourages the enjoyment of these five senses. The younger generation is very pleased to see a beautiful form, to hear radio messages of material news and sense gratificatory songs, to smell nice scents, nice flowers, and to touch the soft body or breasts of a young woman and gradually touch the sex organs. All of this is also very pleasing to the animals; therefore in human society there are restrictions in the enjoyment of the five sense objects. If one does not follow, he becomes exactly like an animal. Thus in this verse it is specifically stated, kāma-kaśmala-cetasaḥ: the consciousness of King Purañjana was polluted by lusty desires and sinful activities. In the previous verse it is stated that Purañjana, although advanced in consciousness, lay down on a very soft bed with his wife. This indicates that he indulged too much in sex. The words navaṁ vayaḥ are also significant in this verse. They indicate the period of youth from age sixteen to thirty. These thirteen or fifteen years of life are years in which one can very strongly enjoy the senses. When one comes to this age he thinks that life will go on and that he will simply continue enjoying his senses, but, “Time and tide wait for no man.” The span of youth expires very quickly. One who wastes his life simply by committing sinful activities in youth immediately becomes disappointed and disillusioned when the brief period of youth is over. The material enjoyments of youth are especially pleasing to a person who has no spiritual training. If one is trained only according to the bodily conception of life, he simply leads a disappointed life because bodily sense enjoyment finishes within forty years or so. After forty years, one simply leads a disillusioned life because he has no spiritual knowledge. For such a person, the expiration of youth occurs in half a moment. Thus King Purañjana’s pleasure, which he took in lying down with his wife, expired very quickly. Kāma-kaśmala-cetasaḥ also indicates that unrestricted sense enjoyment is not allowed in the human form of life by the laws of nature. If one enjoys his senses unrestrictedly, he leads a sinful life. The animals do not violate the laws of nature. For example, the sex impulse in animals is very strong during certain months of the year. The lion is very powerful. He is a flesh-eater and is very strong, but he enjoys sex only once in a year. Similarly, according to religious injunctions a man is restricted to enjoy sex only once in a month, after the menstrual period of the wife, and if the wife is pregnant, he is not allowed sex life at all. That is the law for human beings. A man is allowed to keep more than one wife because he cannot enjoy sex when the wife is pregnant. If he wants to enjoy sex at such a time, he may go to another wife who is not pregnant. These are laws mentioned in the Manu-saṁhitā and other scriptures. These laws and scriptures are meant for human beings. As such, if one violates these laws, he becomes sinful. The conclusion is that unrestricted sense enjoyment means sinful activities. Illicit sex is sex that violates the laws given in the scriptures. When one violates the laws of the scriptures, or the Vedas, he commits sinful activities. One who is engaged in sinful activities cannot change his consciousness. Our real function is to change our consciousness from kaśmala, sinful consciousness, to Kṛṣṇa, the supreme pure. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān [Bg. 10.12]), Kṛṣṇa is the supreme pure, and if we change our consciousness from material enjoyment to Kṛṣṇa, we become purified. This is the process recommended by Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu as the process of ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam [Cc. Antya 20.12], cleansing the mirror of the heart. |
TEXT 9 Pau}aa<aa& ca>avNa( Pau}aa WkE-k-SYa XaTa& XaTaMa( ) YaEvOE PaaErÅNaae v&Xa" PaÄale/zu SaMaeiDaTa" )) 9 )) putrāṇāṁ cābhavan putrā ekaikasya śataṁ śatam yair vai paurañjano vaṁśaḥ pañcāleṣu samedhitaḥ SYNONYMS putrāṇām—of the sons; ca—also; abhavan—were produced; putrāḥ—sons; eka-ekasya—of each one; śatam—hundred; śatam—hundred; yaiḥ—by whom; vai—certainly; paurañjanaḥ—of King Purañjana; vaṁśaḥ—family; pañcāleṣu—in the land of Pañcāla; samedhitaḥ—greatly increased. TRANSLATION Of these many sons, each produced hundreds and hundreds of grandsons. In this way the whole city of Pañcāla became overcrowded by these sons and grandsons of King Purañjana. PURPORT We must remember that Purañjana is the living entity, and the city Pañcāla is the body. The body is the field of activity for the living entity, as stated in Bhagavad-gītā: kṣetra-kṣetrajña. There are two constituents: one is the living entity (kṣetra jña), and the other is the body of the living entity (kṣetra). Any living entity can know that he is covered by the body if he only contemplates the body a little bit. Just with a little contemplation he can come to understand that the body is his possession. One can understand this by practical experience and by the authority of the śāstras. In Bhagavad-gītā (2.13) it is said: dehino’smin yathā dehe. The proprietor of the body, the soul, is within the body. The body is taken as the pañcāla-deśa, or the field of activities wherein the living entity can enjoy the senses in their relationship to the five sense objects, namely gandha, rasa, rūpa, sparśa and śabda—that is, sense objects made out of earth, water, fire, air and sky. Within this material world, covered by the material body of subtle and gross matter, every living entity creates actions and reactions, which are herein known allegorically as sons and grandsons. There are two kinds of actions and reactions—namely pious and impious. In this way our material existence becomes coated by different actions and reactions. In this regard, Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura states: karma-kāṇḍa, jñāna-kāṇḍa, kevala viṣera bhāṇḍa, amṛta baliyā yebā khāya nānā yoni sadā phire, kadarya bhakṣaṇa kare, tāra janma adhaḥ-pāte yāya “Fruitive activities and mental speculation are simply cups of poison. Whoever drinks of them, thinking them to be nectar, must struggle very hard life after life, in different types of bodies. Such a person eats all kinds of nonsense and becomes condemned by his activities of so-called sense enjoyment.” Thus the field of action and reactions, by which one’s descendants are increased, begins with sex life. Purañjana increased his whole family by begetting sons who in their turn begot grandsons. Thus the living entity, being inclined toward sexual gratification, becomes involved in many hundreds and thousands of actions and reactions. In this way he remains within the material world simply for the purpose of sense gratification and transmigrates from one body to another. His process of reproducing so many sons and grandsons results in so-called societies, nations, communities and so on. All these communities, societies, dynasties and nations simply expand from sex life. As stated by Prahlāda Mahārāja: yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham (Bhāg. 7.9.45). A gṛhamedhī is one who wants to remain within this material existence. This means that he wants to remain within this body or society and enjoy friendship, love and community. His only enjoyment is in increasing the number of sex enjoyers. He enjoys sex and produces children, who in their turn marry and produce grandchildren. The grandchildren also marry and in their turn produce great-grandchildren. In this way the entire earth becomes overpopulated, and then suddenly there are reactions provoked by material nature in the form of war, famine, pestilence and earthquakes, etc. Thus the entire population is again extinguished simply to be re-created. This process is explained in Bhagavad-gītā (8.19) as repeated creation and annihilation: bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate. Due to a lack of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, all this creation and annihilation is going on under the name of human civilization. This cycle continues due to man’s lack of knowledge of the soul and the Supreme Personality of Godhead. |
TEXT 10 Taezu Taid]KQaharezu Ga*hk-aeXaaNauJaqivzu ) iNaæ!eNa MaMaTveNa ivzYaeZvNvbDYaTa )) 10 )) teṣu tad-riktha-hāreṣu gṛha-kośānujīviṣu nirūḍhena mamatvena viṣayeṣv anvabadhyata SYNONYMS teṣu—to them; tat-riktha-hāreṣu—the plunderers of his money; gṛha—home; kośa—treasury; anujīviṣu—to the followers; nirūḍhena—deep-rooted; mamatvena—by attachment; viṣayeṣu—to sense objects; anvabadhyata—became bound. TRANSLATION These sons and grandsons were virtually plunderers of King Purañjana’s riches, including his home, treasury, servants, secretaries and all other paraphernalia. Purañjana’s attachment for these things was very deep-rooted. PURPORT In this verse the word riktha-hāreṣu, meaning “plunderers of wealth,” is very significant. One’s sons, grandsons and other descendants are ultimately plunderers of one’s accumulated wealth. There are many celebrated businessmen and industrialists who produce great wealth and are highly praised by the public, but all their money is ultimately plundered by their sons and grandsons. In India we have actually seen one industrialist who, like King Purañjana, was very much sexually inclined and had a half dozen wives. Each of these wives had a separate establishment that necessitated the expenditure of several thousands of rupees. When I was engaged in talking with him, I saw that he was very busy trying to secure money so that all his sons and daughters would get at least five hundred thousand rupees each. Thus such industrialists, businessmen or karmīs are called mūḍhas in the śāstras. They work very hard, accumulate money, and are satisfied to see that this money is plundered by their sons and grandsons. Such people do not want to return their wealth to its actual owner. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (5.29), bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram: the real proprietor of all wealth is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is the actual enjoyer. So-called earners of money are those who simply know tricks by which they can take away God’s money under the guise of business and industry. After accumulating this money, they enjoy seeing it plundered by their sons and grandsons. This is the materialistic way of life. In materialistic life one is encaged within the body and deluded by false egoism. Thus one thinks, “I am this body,” “I am a human being,” “I am an American,” “I am an Indian.” This bodily conception is due to false ego. Being deluded by false ego, one identifies himself with a certain family, nation or community. In this way one’s attachment for the material world grows deeper and deeper. Thus it becomes very difficult for the living entity to extricate himself from his entanglement. Such people are graphically described in the Sixteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā (16.13–15) in this way: idam adya mayā labdham imaṁ prāpsye manoratham idam astīdam api me bhaviṣyati punar dhanam asau mayā hataḥ śatrur haniṣye cāparān api īśvaro ’ham ahaṁ bhogī siddho ’haṁ balavān sukhī āḍhyo ’bhijanavān asmi ko ’nyo ’sti sadṛśo mayā yakṣye dāsyāmi modiṣya ity ajñāna-vimohitāḥ “The demoniac person thinks: So much wealth do I have today, and I will gain more according to my schemes. So much is mine now, and it will increase in the future, more and more. He is my enemy, and I have killed him; and my other enemy will also be killed. I am the lord of everything, I am the enjoyer, I am perfect, powerful and happy. I am the richest man, surrounded by aristocratic relatives. There is none so powerful and happy as I am. I shall perform sacrifices, I shall give some charity, and thus I shall rejoice.’ In this way, such persons are deluded by ignorance.” In this way people engage in various laborious activities, and their attachment for body, home, family, nation and community becomes more and more deep-rooted. |
wRJae c §-Taui>agaaeR„rEds„i+aTa" PaéuMaarkE-" ) devaNa( iPaTa›Na( >aUTaPaTaqàaNaak-aMaae YaQaa >avaNa( )) 11 )) īje ca kratubhir ghorair dīkṣitaḥ paśu-mārakaiḥ devān pitṝn bhūta-patīn nānā-kāmo yathā bhavān SYNONYMS īje—he worshiped; ca—also; kratubhiḥ—by sacrifices; ghoraiḥ—ghastly; dīkṣitaḥ—inspired; paśu-mārakaiḥ—wherein poor animals are killed; devān—the demigods; pitṝn—forefathers; bhūta-patīn—great leaders of human society; nānā—various; kāmaḥ—having desires; yathā—like; bhavān—you. TRANSLATION The great sage Nārada continued: My dear King Prācīnabarhiṣat, like you King Purañjana also became implicated in so many desires. Thus he worshiped demigods, forefathers and social leaders with various sacrifices which were all very ghastly because they were inspired by the desire to kill animals. PURPORT In this verse the great sage Nārada discloses that the character of Purañjana was being described to give lessons to King Prācīnabarhiṣat. Actually the entire description was figuratively describing the activities of King Prācīnabarhiṣat. In this verse Nārada frankly says “like you” (yathā bhavān), which indicates that King Purañjana is none other than King Prācīnabarhiṣat himself. Being a great Vaiṣṇava, Nārada Muni wanted to stop animal-killing in sacrifices. He knew that if he tried to stop the King from performing sacrifices, the King would not hear him. Therefore he is describing the life of Purañjana. But in this verse he first discloses the intention, although not fully, by saying “like you.” Generally the karmīs, who are attached to increasing descendants, have to perform so many sacrifices and worship so many demigods for future generations, as well as to satisfy so many leaders, politicians, philosophers and scientists to make things go on properly for future generations. The so-called scientists are very eager to see that future generations will live very comfortably, and as such they are trying to find different means of generating energy to drive locomotives, cars, airplanes and so on. Now they are exhausting the petroleum supply. These activities are described in the Bhagavad-gītā (2.41): vyavasāyātmikā buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana bahu-śākhā hy anantāś ca buddhayo ’vyavasāyinām “Those who are on the spiritual path are resolute in purpose, and their aim is one. O beloved child of the Kurus, the intelligence of those who are irresolute is many-branched.” Actually, those who are in knowledge of everything are determined to execute Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but those who are rascals (mūḍhāḥ), sinners (duṣkṛtinaḥ) and the lowest of mankind (narādhamāḥ), who are bereft of all intelligence (māyayāpahṛta jñānāḥ) and who take shelter of the demoniac way of life (āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ), are disinterested in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. As such they become implicated and take on so many activities. Most of these activities center around the killing of animals. Modern civilization is centered around animal-killing. Karmīs are advertising that without eating meat, their vitamin value or vitality will be reduced; so to keep oneself fit to work hard, one must eat meat, and to digest meat, one must drink liquor, and to keep the balance of drinking wine and eating meat, one must have sufficient sexual intercourse to keep fit to work very hard like an ass. There are two ways of animal-killing. One way is in the name of religious sacrifices. All the religions of the world—except the Buddhists—have a program for killing animals in places of worship. According to Vedic civilization, the animal-eaters are recommended to sacrifice a goat in the temple of Kālī under certain restrictive rules and regulations and eat the flesh. Similarly, they are recommended to drink wine by worshiping the goddess Caṇḍikā. The purpose is restriction. People have given up all this restriction. Now they are regularly opening wine distilleries and slaughterhouses and indulging in drinking alcohol and eating flesh. A Vaiṣṇava ācārya like Nārada Muni knows very well that persons engaged in such animal-killing in the name of religion are certainly becoming involved in the cycle of birth and death, forgetting the real aim of life: to go home, back to Godhead. Thus the great sage Nārada, while instructing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to Vyāsa Muni, condemned the karma-kāṇḍa (fruitive) activities mentioned in the Vedas. Nārada told Vyāsa: jugupsitaṁ dharma-kṛte ’nuśāsataḥ svabhāva-raktasya mahān vyatikramaḥ yad vākyato dharma itītaraḥ sthito na manyate tasya nivāraṇaṁ janaḥ “The people in general are naturally inclined to enjoy, and you have encouraged them in that way in the name of religion. This is verily condemned and is quite unreasonable. Because they are guided under your instructions, they will accept such activities in the name of religion and will hardly care for prohibitions.” (Bhāg. 1.5.15) Śrīla Nārada Muni chastised Vyāsadeva for compiling so many Vedic supplementary scriptures, which are all intended for guiding the people in general. Nārada Muni condemned these scriptures because they do not mention direct devotional service. Under Nārada’s instructions, direct worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, was set forth by Vyāsadeva. The conclusion is that neither the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, nor His devotee ever sanctions animal-killing in the name of religion. Indeed, Kṛṣṇa incarnated Himself as Lord Buddha to put an end to animal-killing in the name of religion. Animal sacrifice under the name of religion is conducted by the influence of tamo-guṇa (the mode of ignorance), as indicated in the Eighteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā (18.31–32): yayā dharmam adharmaṁ ca kāryaṁ cākāryam eva ca ayathāvat prajānāti buddhiḥ sā pārtha rājasī adharmaṁ dharmam iti yā manyate tamasāvṛtā sarvārthān viparītāṁś ca buddhiḥ sā pārtha tāmasī “That understanding which cannot distinguish between the religious way of life and the irreligious, between action that should be done and action that should not be done—that imperfect understanding, O son of Pṛthā, is in the mode of passion. That understanding which considers irreligion to be religion and religion to be irreligion, under the spell of illusion and darkness, and strives always in the wrong direction, O Pārtha, is in the mode of ignorance.” Those who are involved in the mode of ignorance manufacture religious systems for killing animals. Actually dharma is transcendental. As Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa teaches, we must give up all other systems of religion and simply surrender unto Him (sarva-dharmān parityajya [Bg. 18.66]). Thus the Lord and His devotees and representatives teach the transcendental dharma, which does not allow animal-killing at all. At the present moment it is the greatest misfortune that in India many so-called missionary workers are spreading irreligion in the name of religion. They claim an ordinary human being to be God and recommend meat-eating for everyone, including so-called sannyāsīs. |
c<@veGa wiTa :YaaTaae GaNDavaRiDaPaiTaNa*RPa ) GaNDavaRSTaSYa bil/Na" zíyutarXaTa}aYaMa( )) 13 )) caṇḍavega iti khyāto gandharvādhipatir nṛpa gandharvās tasya balinaḥ ṣaṣṭy-uttara-śata-trayam SYNONYMS caṇḍavegaḥ—Caṇḍavega; iti—thus; khyātaḥ—celebrated; gandharva—belonging to the Gandharvaloka; adhipatiḥ—king; nṛpa—O King; gandharvāḥ—other Gandharvas; tasya—his; balinaḥ—very powerful soldiers; ṣaṣṭi—sixty; uttara—surpassing; śata—hundred; trayam—three. TRANSLATION O King! In Gandharvaloka there is a king named Caṇḍavega. Under him there are 360 very powerful Gandharva soldiers. PURPORT Time is figuratively described here as Caṇḍavega. Since time and tide wait for no man, time is herein called Caṇḍavega, which means “very swiftly passing away.” As time passes, it is calculated in terms of years. One year contains 360 days, and the soldiers of Caṇḍavega herein mentioned represent these days. Time passes swiftly; Caṇḍavega’s powerful soldiers of Gandharvaloka very swiftly carry away all the days of our life. As the sun rises and sets, it snatches away the balance of our life-span. Thus as each day passes, each one of us loses some of life’s duration. It is therefore said that the duration of one’s life cannot be saved. But if one is engaged in devotional service, his time cannot be taken away by the sun. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.3.17), āyur harati vai puṁsām udyann astaṁ ca yann asau. The conclusion is that if one wants to make himself immortal, he should give up sense gratification. By engaging oneself in devotional service, one can gradually enter into the eternal kingdom of God. Mirages and other illusory things are sometimes called Gandharvas. Our losing our life-span is taken as advancement of age. This imperceptible passing away of the days of life is figuratively referred to in this verse as Gandharvas. As explained in later verses, such Gandharvas are both male and female. This indicates that both men and women lose their life-span imperceptibly by the force of time, which is herein described as Caṇḍavega. |
TEXT 14 GaNDaVYaRSTaad*XaqrSYa MaEQauNYaê iSaTaaiSaTaa" ) Pairv*tYaa ivlu/MPaiNTa SavRk-aMaiviNaiMaRTaaMa( )) 14 )) gandharvyas tādṛśīr asya maithunyaś ca sitāsitāḥ parivṛttyā vilumpanti sarva-kāma-vinirmitām SYNONYMS gandharvyaḥ—Gandharvīs; tādṛśīḥ—similarly; asya—of Caṇḍavega; maithunyaḥ—companions for sexual intercourse; ca—also; sita—white; asitāḥ—black; parivṛttyā—by surrounding; vilumpanti—they plundered; sarva-kāma—all kinds of desirable objects; vinirmitām—manufactured. TRANSLATION Along with Caṇḍavega were as many female Gandharvīs as there were soldiers, and all of them repetitively plundered all the paraphernalia for sense enjoyment. PURPORT The days have been compared to the soldiers of Caṇḍavega. Night is generally a time for sex enjoyment. Days are considered to be white, and nights are considered to be black, or, from another point of view, there are two kinds of nights—black nights and white nights. All these days and nights combine to pass away our span of life and everything we manufacture for sense gratification. Material activity means manufacturing things for sense gratification. Scientists are conducting research to find out how we can satisfy our senses more and more elaborately. In this Kali-yuga, the demoniac mentality is employed in manufacturing various machines to facilitate the process of sense gratification. There are so many machines for ordinary household activities. There are machines for washing dishes, cleansing the floor, shaving, clipping hair—today everything is done by machine. All these facilities for sense gratification are described in this verse as sarva-kāma-vinirmitām. The time factor, however, is so strong that not only is our span of life being expended, but all the machines and facilities for sense gratification are deteriorating. Therefore in this verse the word vilumpanti (“plundering”) is used. Everything is being plundered from the very beginning of our lives. This plundering of our possessions and life-span begins with the day of our birth. One day will come when death will finish everything, and the living entity will have to enter another body to begin another chapter of life and again begin the cycle of material sense gratification. Prahlāda Mahārāja describes this process as punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām (Bhāg. 7.5.30). Materialistic life means chewing the chewed again and again. The central point of material life is sense gratification. In different types of bodies, the living entity enjoys various senses, and through creating various types of facilities, he chews the chewed. Whether we squeeze sugar out of the sugarcane with our teeth or a machine, the result is the same—sugarcane juice. We may discover many ways to squeeze the juice out of the sugarcane, but the result is the same. |
TEXT 16 Sa Saái>a" XaTaErek-ae iv&XaTYaa c XaTa& SaMaa" ) PaurÅNaPauraDYa+aae GaNDavOEYauRYauDae bl/I )) 16 )) sa saptabhiḥ śatair eko viṁśatyā ca śataṁ samāḥ purañjana-purādhyakṣo gandharvair yuyudhe balī SYNONYMS saḥ—he; saptabhiḥ—with seven; śataiḥ—hundred; ekaḥ—alone; viṁśatyā—with twenty; ca—also; śatam—hundred; samāḥ—years; purañjana—of King Purañjana; pura-adhyakṣaḥ—superintendent of the city; gandharvaiḥ—with the Gandharvas; yuyudhe—fought; balī—very valiant. TRANSLATION The five-hooded serpent, the superintendent and protector of the city of King Purañjana, fought with the Gandharvas for one hundred years. He fought alone, with all of them, although they numbered 720. PURPORT The 360 days and 360 nights combine to become the 720 soldiers of Caṇḍavega (time). One has to fight these soldiers throughout one’s lifespan, beginning with birth and ending with death. This fight is called the struggle for existence. Despite this struggle, however, the living entity does not die. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (2.20), the living entity is eternal: na jāyate mriyate vā kadācin nāyaṁ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ ajo nityaḥ śāśvato ’yaṁ purāṇo na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre “For the soul there is never birth nor death. Nor, having once been, does he ever cease to be. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.” Actually the living entity does not take birth nor does he die, but he has to fight with the stringent laws of material nature throughout the entire span of his lifetime. He must also face different kinds of miserable conditions. Despite all this, the living entity, due to illusion, thinks that he is well situated in sense gratification. |
TEXT 24 ‰z>a& YavNaaNaa& Tva& v*<ae vqreiPSaTa& PaiTaMa( ) SaªLPaSTviYa >aUTaaNaa& k*-Ta" ik-l/ Na irZYaiTa )) 24 )) ṛṣabhaṁ yavanānāṁ tvāṁ vṛṇe vīrepsitaṁ patim saṅkalpas tvayi bhūtānāṁ kṛtaḥ kila na riṣyati SYNONYMS ṛṣabham—the best; yavanānām—of the untouchables; tvām—you; vṛṇe—I accept; vīra—O great hero; īpsitam—desired; patim—husband; saṅkalpaḥ—the determination; tvayi—unto you; bhūtānām—of all living entities; kṛtaḥ—if done; kila—certainly; na—never; riṣyati—becomes baffled. TRANSLATION Approaching the King of the Yavanas, Kālakanyā addressed him as a great hero, saying: My dear sir, you are the best of the untouchables. I am in love with you, and I want you as my husband. I know that no one is baffled if he makes friends with you. PURPORT The words yavanānām ṛṣabham refer to the King of the Yavanas. The Sanskrit words yavana and mleccha apply to those who do not follow the Vedic principles. According to the Vedic principles, one should rise early in the morning, take bath, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, offer maṅgala-ārati to the Deities, study Vedic literature, take prasāda and engage in dressing and decorating the Deities. One must also collect money for the temple expenditures, or if one is a householder he must go to work in accordance with the prescribed duties of a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya or śūdra. In this way one should live a life of spiritual understanding, and this is the Vedic way of civilization. One who does not follow all these rules and regulations is called a yavana or mleccha. One should not mistakenly think that these words refer to certain classes of men in other countries. There is no question of limitation according to nationalism. Whether one lives in India or outside of India, he is called a yavana or mleccha if he does not follow the Vedic principles. One who does not actually follow the hygienic principles prescribed in the Vedic rules and regulations will be subjected to many contagious diseases. Because the students in this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement are advised to follow the Vedic principles, they naturally become hygienic. If a person is Kṛṣṇa conscious, he can work like a young man even if he is seventy-five or eighty years old. Thus the daughter of Kāla (Time) cannot overcome a Vaiṣṇava. Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī engaged in writing Caitanya-caritāmṛta when he was very old, yet he presented the most wonderful literature about the activities of Lord Caitanya. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and Sanātana Gosvāmī began their spiritual lives at a very old age, that is, after they retired from their occupations and family lives. Yet they presented many valuable literatures for the advancement of spiritual life. This is confirmed by Śrīla Śrīnivāsa Ācārya, who praised the Gosvāmīs in this way: nānā-śāstra-vicāraṇaika-nipuṇau sad-dharma-saṁsthāpakau lokānāṁ hita-kāriṇau tri-bhuvane mānyau śaraṇyākarau rādhā-kṛṣṇa-padāravinda-bhajanānandena mattālikau vande rūpa-sanātanau raghu-yugau śrī-jīva-gopālakau “I offer my respectful obeisances unto the six Gosvāmīs, namely Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī, Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī, Śrī Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, Śrī Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī and Śrī Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, who are very expert in scrutinizingly studying all the revealed scriptures with the aim of establishing eternal religious principles for the benefit of all human beings. Thus they are honored all over the three worlds, and they are worth taking shelter of because they are absorbed in the mood of the gopīs and are engaged in the transcendental loving service of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.” Thus jarā, the effect of old age, does not harass a devotee. This is because a devotee follows the instructions and the determination of Nārada Muni. All devotees are in the disciplic succession stemming from Nārada Muni because they worship the Deity according to Nārada Muni’s direction, namely the Nārada-pañcarātra, or the pāñcarātrika-vidhi. A devotee follows the principles of pāñcarātrika-vidhi as well as bhāgavata-vidhi. Bhāgavata-vidhi includes preaching work—śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ [SB 7.5.23]—the hearing and chanting of the glories of Lord Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The pāñcarātrika-vidhi includes arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ sakhyam ātma-nivedanam. Because a devotee rigidly follows the instructions of Nārada Muni, he has no fear of old age, disease or death. Apparently a devotee may grow old, but he is not subjected to the symptoms of defeat experienced by a common man in old age. Consequently, old age does not make a devotee fearful of death, as a common man is fearful of death. When jarā, or old age, takes shelter of a devotee, Kālakanyā diminishes the devotee’s fear. A devotee knows that after death he is going back home, back to Godhead; therefore he has no fear of death. Thus instead of depressing a devotee, advanced age helps him become fearless and thus happy. |
TEXT 25 ÜaivMaavNauXaaeciNTa bal/avSadvGa]haE ) Yaçaek-XaañaePaNaTa& Na raiTa Na TaidC^iTa )) 25 )) dvāv imāv anuśocanti bālāv asad-avagrahau yal loka-śāstropanataṁ na rāti na tad icchati SYNONYMS dvau—two kinds; imau—these; anuśocanti—they lament; bālau—ignorant; asat—the foolish; avagrahau—taking the path of; yat—that which; loka—by custom; śāstra—by scriptures; upanatam—presented; na—never; rāti—follows; na—neither; tat—that; icchati—desires. TRANSLATION One who does not give charity according to the customs or injunctions of the scriptures and one who does not accept charity in that way are considered to be in the mode of ignorance. Such persons follow the path of the foolish. Surely they must lament at the end. PURPORT It is herein stated that one should strictly follow the scriptures if one actually wants an auspicious life. The same is explained in Bhagavad-gītā (16.23): yaḥ śāstra-vidhim utsṛjya vartate kāma-kārataḥ na sa siddhim avāpnoti na sukhaṁ na parāṁ gatim “He who discards scriptural injunctions and acts according to his own whims attains neither perfection, nor happiness, nor the supreme destination.” One who does not strictly follow the terms of the Vedic injunctions never attains success in life or happiness. And what to speak of going home, back to Godhead. One śāstric injunction holds that a householder, a kṣatriya or an administrative head should not refuse to accept a woman if she voluntarily requests to become a wife. Since Kālakanyā, the daughter of Time, was deputed by Nārada Muni to offer herself to Yavana-rāja, the King of the Yavanas could not refuse her. All transactions must be performed in light of the śāstric injunctions. The śāstric injunctions are confirmed by great sages like Nārada Muni. As stated by Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura: sādhu-śāstra-guru-vākya, cittete kariyā aikya. One should follow the principles of saintly persons, scriptures and the spiritual master. In this way one is sure to attain success in life. Kālakanyā, the daughter of Time, presented herself before the King of the Yavanas precisely in terms of sādhu, śāstra and guru. Thus there was no reason for not accepting her. |
TEXT 29 TvMaVYa¢-GaiTa>auRx(+v l/aek&- k-MaRiviNaiMaRTaMa( ) Yaaih Mae Pa*TaNaaYau¢-a Pa[JaaNaaXa& Pa[<aeZYaiSa )) 29 )) tvam avyakta-gatir bhuṅkṣva lokaṁ karma-vinirmitam yā hi me pṛtanā-yuktā prajā-nāśaṁ praṇeṣyasi SYNONYMS tvam—you; avyakta-gatiḥ—whose movement is imperceptible; bhuṅkṣva—enjoy; lokam—this world; karma-vinirmitam—manufactured by fruitive activities; yā—one who; hi—certainly; me—my; pṛtanā—soldiers; yuktā—helped by; prajā-nāśam—annihilation of the living entities; praṇeṣyasi—you shall carry out without any hindrance. TRANSLATION This world is a product of fruitive activities. Therefore you may imperceptibly attack people in general. Helped by my soldiers, you can kill them without opposition. PURPORT The word karma-vinirmitam means “manufactured by fruitive activities.” This entire material world, especially in these days, is the result of fruitive activities. Everyone is fully engaged in decorating the world with highways, motorcars, electricity, skyscrapers, industries, businesses, etc. All this appears very nice for those who are simply engaged in sense gratification and who are ignorant of spiritual identity. As described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.5.4): nūnaṁ pramattaḥ kurute vikarma yad indriya-prītaya āpṛṇoti na sādhu manye yata ātmano ’yam asann api kleśada āsa dehaḥ Those without knowledge of the spirit soul are mad after materialistic activities, and they perform all kinds of sinful activities simply for sense gratification. According to Ṛṣabhadeva, such activities are inauspicious because they force one to accept an abominable body in the next life. Everyone can experience that although we try to keep the body in a comfortable position, it is always giving pain and is subjected to the threefold miseries. Otherwise, why are there so many hospitals, welfare boards and insurance establishments? Actually, in this world there is no happiness. People are simply engaged trying to counteract unhappiness. Foolish people accept unhappiness as happiness; therefore the King of the Yavanas decided to attack such foolish people imperceptibly by old age, disease, and ultimately death. Of course, after death there must be birth; therefore Yavana-rāja thought it wise to kill all the karmīs through the agency of Kālakanyā and thus try to make them aware that materialistic advancement is not actually advancement. Every living entity is a spiritual being, and consequently without spiritual advancement the human form of life is ruined. |
Ta Wk-da Tau r>aSaa PaurÅNaPaurq& Na*Pa ) ååDau>aaOEMa>aaeGaa!ya& JarTPaàGaPaail/TaaMa( )) 2 )) ta ekadā tu rabhasā purañjana-purīṁ nṛpa rurudhur bhauma-bhogāḍhyāṁ jarat-pannaga-pālitām SYNONYMS te—they; ekadā—once upon a time; tu—then; rabhasā—with great force; purañjana-purīm—the city of Purañjana; nṛpa—O King; rurudhuḥ—encircled; bhauma-bhoga-āḍhyām—full of sense enjoyments; jarat—old; pannaga—by the serpent; pālitām—protected. TRANSLATION Once the dangerous soldiers attacked the city of Purañjana with great force. Although the city was full of paraphernalia for sense gratification, it was being protected by the old serpent. PURPORT As one’s body engages in sense gratification, it becomes weaker and weaker daily. Finally the vital force becomes so weak that it is herein compared to a weak serpent. The life air has already been compared to the serpent. When the vital force within the body becomes weak, the body itself also becomes weak. At such a time the death symptoms—that is, the dangerous soldiers of death’s superintendent, Yamarāja—begin to attack very severely. According to the Vedic system, before coming to such a stage one should leave home and take sannyāsa to preach the message of God for the duration of life. However, if one sits at home and is served by his beloved wife and children, he certainly becomes weaker and weaker due to sense gratification. When death finally comes, one leaves the body devoid of spiritual assets. At the present time, even the oldest man in the family does not leave home, being attracted by wife, children, money, opulence, dwelling, etc. Thus at the end of life one worries about how his wife will be protected and how she will manage the great family responsibilities. In this way a man usually thinks of his wife before death. According to Bhagavad-gītā (8.6): yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁ tyajaty ante kalevaram taṁ tam evaiti kaunteya sadā tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ “Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, that state he will attain without fail.” At the end of life, a person thinks of what he has done throughout his whole life; thus he gets another body (dehāntara) according to his thoughts and desires at the end of life. One overly addicted to life at home naturally thinks of his beloved wife at the end of life. Consequently, in the next life he gets the body of a woman, and he also acquires the results of his pious or impious activities. In this chapter the acceptance of a woman’s body by King Purañjana will be thoroughly explained. |
TEXT 20 Pa[baeDaYaiTa Maaivj& VYauizTae Xaaek-k-iXaRTaa ) vTMaOETad( Ga*hMaeDaqYa& vqrSaUriPa NaeZYaiTa )) 20 )) prabodhayati māvijñaṁ vyuṣite śoka-karśitā vartmaitad gṛha-medhīyaṁ vīra-sūr api neṣyati SYNONYMS prabodhayati—gives good counsel; mā—unto me; avijñam—foolish; vyuṣite—at the time of my being away; śoka—by aggrievement; karśitā—being aggrieved and thus dried up; vartma—path; etat—this; gṛha-medhīyam—of household responsibilities; vīra-sūḥ—the mother of great heroes; api—although; neṣyati—will she be able to execute. TRANSLATION King Purañjana continued thinking how, when he was in a state of bewilderment, his wife would give him good counsel and how she would become aggrieved when he was away from home. Although she was the mother of so many sons and heroes, the King still feared that she would not be able to maintain the responsibility of household affairs. PURPORT At the time of death King Purañjana was thinking of his wife, and this is called polluted consciousness. As Lord Kṛṣṇa explains in Bhagavad-gītā (15.7): mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati “The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal, fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind.” The living entity is, after all, part and parcel of the Supreme Spirit, Kṛṣṇa. In other words, Kṛṣṇa’s constitutional position and the living entity’s constitutional position are the same qualitatively. The only difference is that the living entity is eternally an atomic particle of the Supreme Spirit. Mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ [Bg. 15.7]. In this material world of conditional life, the fragmental portion of the Supreme Lord, the individual soul, is struggling due to his contaminated mind and consciousness. As part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, a living entity is supposed to think of Kṛṣṇa, but here we see that King Purañjana (the living entity) is thinking of a woman. Such mental absorption with some sense object brings about the living entity’s struggle for existence in this material world. Since King Purañjana is thinking of his wife, his struggle for existence in the material world will not be ended by death. As revealed in the following verses, King Purañjana had to accept the body of a woman in his next life due to his being overly absorbed in thoughts of his wife. Thus mental absorption in social, political, pseudoreligious, national and communal consciousness is cause for bondage. During one’s lifetime one has to change his activities in order to attain release from bondage. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (3.9). Yajñārthāt karmaṇo ’nyatra loko ’yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ. If we do not change our consciousness in this life, whatever we do in the name of social, political, religious or communal and national welfare will be the cause of our bondage. This means we have to continue in material, conditional life. As explained in Bhagavad-gītā (15.7), manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati. When the mind and senses are engaged in material activities, one has to continue his material existence and struggle to attain happiness. In each and every life one is engaged in the struggle to become happy. Actually no one in this material world is happy, but the struggle gives a false sense of happiness. A person must work very hard, and when he attains the result of his hard work, he thinks himself happy. In the material world people do not know what real happiness is. Sukham ātyantikaṁ yat tad buddhi-grāhyam atīndriyam (Bg. 6.21). Real happiness must be appreciated by one’s transcendental senses. Unless one is purified, the transcendental senses are not manifest; therefore to purify the senses one must take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and engage the senses in the service of the Lord. Then there will be real happiness and liberation. It is stated in Bhagavad-gītā (15.8): śarīraṁ yad avāpnoti yac cāpy utkrāmatīśvaraḥ gṛhītvaitāni saṁyāti vāyur gandhān ivāśayāt “The living entity in the material world carries his different conceptions of life from one body to another as the air carries aromas.” If the wind passes over a garden of roses, it will carry the aroma of roses, and if it passes over a filthy place, it will carry the stench of obnoxious things. Similarly, King Purañjana, the living entity, now passes the air of his life over his wife, a woman; therefore he has to accept the body of a woman in his next life. |
Wv& k*-Pa<aYaa buÖya XaaecNTaMaTadhR<aMa( ) Ga]hqTau& k*-TaDaqreNa& >aYaNaaMaa>YaPaÛTa )) 22 )) evaṁ kṛpaṇayā buddhyā śocantam atad-arhaṇam grahītuṁ kṛta-dhīr enaṁ bhaya-nāmābhyapadyata SYNONYMS evam—thus; kṛpaṇayā—by miserly; buddhyā—intelligence; śocantam—lamenting; a-tat-arhaṇam—on which he should not have lamented; grahītum—in order to arrest; kṛta-dhīḥ—the determined King of the Yavanas; enam—him; bhaya-nāmā—whose name was fear; abhyapadyata—came there immediately. TRANSLATION Although King Purañjana should not have lamented over the fate of his wife and children, he nonetheless did so due to his miserly intelligence. In the meantime, Yavana-rāja, whose name was fear itself, immediately drew near to arrest him. PURPORT Foolish people do not know that every individual soul is responsible for his own actions and reactions in life. As long as a living entity in the form of a child or boy is innocent, it is the duty of the father and mother to lead him into a proper understanding of the values of life. When a child is grown, it should be left up to him to execute the duties of life properly. The parent, after his death, cannot help his child. A father may leave some estate for his children’s immediate help, but he should not be overly absorbed in thoughts of how his family will survive after his death. This is the disease of the conditioned soul. Not only does he commit sinful activities for his own sense gratification, but he accumulates great wealth to leave behind so that his children may also gorgeously arrange for sense gratification. In any case, everyone is afraid of death, and therefore death is called bhaya, or fear. Although King Purañjana was engaged in thinking of his wife and children, death did not wait for him. Death does not wait for any man; it will immediately carry out its duty. Since death must take away the living entity without hesitation, it is the ultimate God realization of the atheists, who spoil their lives thinking of country, society and relatives, to the neglect of God consciousness. In this verse the word atad-arhaṇam is very significant, for it means that one should not be overly engaged in welfare activities for one’s family members, countrymen, society and community. None of these will help a person to advance spiritually. Unfortunately, in present-day society so-called educated men have no idea what spiritual progress is. Although they have the opportunity in the human form of life to make spiritual progress, they remain misers. They use their lives improperly and simply waste them thinking about the material welfare of their relatives, countrymen, society and so on. One’s actual duty is to learn how to conquer death. Lord Kṛṣṇa states the process of conquering death in Bhagavad-gītā (4.9): janma karma ca me divyam evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti so ’rjuna “One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.” After giving up this body, one who is fully Kṛṣṇa conscious does not accept another material body but returns home, back to Godhead. Everyone should try to attain this perfection. Unfortunately, instead of doing so, people are absorbed in thoughts of society, friendship, love and relatives. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, however, is educating people throughout the world and informing them how to conquer death. Hariṁ vinā na sṛtiṁ taranti. One cannot conquer death without taking shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. |
ivk*-ZYaMaa<a" Pa[Sa>a& YavNaeNa bl/IYaSaa ) NaaivNdtaMaSaaiví" Sa%aYa& Sauôd& Paur" )) 25 )) vikṛṣyamāṇaḥ prasabhaṁ yavanena balīyasā nāvindat tamasāviṣṭaḥ sakhāyaṁ suhṛdaṁ puraḥ SYNONYMS vikṛṣyamāṇaḥ—being dragged; prasabham—forcibly; yavanena—by the Yavana; balīyasā—who was very powerful; na avindat—could not remember; tamasā—by darkness of ignorance; āviṣṭaḥ—being covered; sakhāyam—his friend; suhṛdam—always a well-wisher; puraḥ—from the very beginning. TRANSLATION When King Purañjana was being dragged with great force by the powerful Yavana, out of his gross ignorance he still could not remember his friend and well-wisher, the Supersoul. PURPORT In Bhagavad-gītā (5.29) Lord Kṛṣṇa says: bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati A person can be in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness and become happy and satisfied if he knows but three things—namely, that the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa is the enjoyer of all benefits, that He is the proprietor of everything, and that He is the supreme friend of all living entities. If one does not know this and functions instead under the bodily conception, he is always harassed by the tribulations offered by material nature. In actuality, the Supreme Lord is sitting by the side of everyone. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe ’rjuna tiṣṭhati (Bg. 18.61). The living entity and the Supersoul are sitting side by side in the same tree, but despite being harassed by the laws of material nature, the foolish living entity does not turn toward the Supreme Personality of Godhead for protection. However, he thinks that he is able to protect himself from the stringent laws of material nature. This, however, is not possible. The living entity must turn toward the Supreme Personality of Godhead and surrender unto Him. Only then will he be saved from the onslaught of the powerful Yavana, or Yamarāja. The word sakhāyam (“friend”) is very significant in this verse because God is eternally present beside the living entity. The Supreme Lord is also described as suḥrdam (“ever well-wisher”). The Supreme Lord is always a well-wisher, just like a father or mother. Despite all the offenses of a son, the father and mother are always the son’s well-wisher. Similarly, despite all our offenses and defiance of the desires of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Lord will give us immediate relief from all the hardships offered by material nature if we simply surrender unto Him, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te [Bg. 7.14]). Unfortunately, due to our bad association and great attachment for sense gratification, we do not remember our best friend, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. |
TEXT 26 Ta& YajPaXavae_NaeNa Sa&jáa Yae_dYaalu/Naa ) ku-#=arEiêiC^du" §u-Öa" SMarNTaae_MaqvMaSYa TaTa( )) 26 )) taṁ yajña-paśavo ’nena saṁjñaptā ye ’dayālunā kuṭhāraiś cicchiduḥ kruddhāḥ smaranto ’mīvam asya tat SYNONYMS tam—him; yajña-paśavaḥ—the sacrificial animals; anena—by him; saṁjñaptāḥ—killed; ye—all of them who; adayālunā—by the most unkind; kuṭhāraiḥ—by axes; cicchiduḥ—pierced to pieces; kruddhāḥ—being very angry; smarantaḥ—remembering; amīvam—sinful activity; asya—of him; tat—that. TRANSLATION That most unkind king, Purañjana, had killed many animals in various sacrifices. Now, taking advantage of this opportunity, all these animals began to pierce him with their horns. It was as though he were being cut to pieces by axes. PURPORT Those who are very enthusiastic about killing animals in the name of religion or for food must await similar punishment after death. The word māṁsa (“meat”) indicates that those animals whom we kill will be given an opportunity to kill us. Although in actuality no living entity is killed, the pains of being pierced by the horns of animals will be experienced after death. Not knowing this, rascals unhesitatingly go on killing poor animals. So-called human civilization has opened many slaughterhouses for animals in the name of religion or food. Those who are a little religious kill animals in temples, mosques or synagogues, and those who are more fallen maintain various slaughterhouses. Just as in civilized human society the law is a life for a life, no living entity can encroach upon another living entity as far as the Supreme Lord is concerned. Everyone should be given freedom to live at the cost of the supreme father, and animal-killing—either for religion or for food—is always condemned by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In Bhagavad-gītā (16.19) Lord Kṛṣṇa says: tān ahaṁ dviṣataḥ krūrān saṁsāreṣu narādhamān kṣipāmy ajasram aśubhān āsurīṣv eva yoniṣu “Those who are envious and mischievous, who are the lowest among men, are cast by Me into the ocean of material existence, into various demoniac species of life.” The animal-killers (dviṣataḥ), envying other living entities and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, are placed in darkness and cannot understand the theme and objective of life. This is further explained in the following verses. |
TaaMaev MaNaSaa Ga*õNa( b>aUv Pa[MadaetaMaa ) ANaNTar& ivd>aRSYa raJaiSa&hSYa veXMaiNa )) 28 )) tām eva manasā gṛhṇan babhūva pramadottamā anantaraṁ vidarbhasya rāja-siṁhasya veśmani SYNONYMS tām—her; eva—certainly; manasā—by the mind; gṛhṇan—accepting; babhūva—became; pramadā—woman; uttamā—highly situated; anantaram—after death; vidarbhasya—of Vidarbha; rāja-siṁhasya—of the most powerful king; veśmani—at the house. TRANSLATION King Purañjana gave up his body while remembering his wife, and consequently in his next life he became a very beautiful and well-situated woman. He took his next birth as the daughter of King Vidarbha in the very house of the King. PURPORT Since King Purañjana thought of his wife at the time of death, he attained the body of a woman in his next birth. This verifies the following verse in Bhagavad-gītā (8.6): yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁ tyajaty ante kalevaram taṁ tam evaiti kaunteya sadā tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ “Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, that state he will attain without fail.” When a living entity is accustomed to think of a particular subject matter or become absorbed in a certain type of thought, he will think of that subject at the time of death. At the time of death, one will think of the subject that has occupied his life while he was awake, lightly sleeping or dreaming, or while he was deeply sleeping. After falling from the association of the Supreme Lord, the living entity thus transmigrates from one bodily form to another according to nature’s course, until he finally attains the human form. If he is absorbed in material thoughts and ignorant of spiritual life, and if he does not take shelter under the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda, who solves all questions of birth and death, he will become a woman in the next life, especially if he thinks of his wife. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.31.1): karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa. A living entity acts piously and impiously, and sometimes in both ways. All actions are taken into account, and the living entity is offered a new body by his superiors. Although King Purañjana was overly attached to his wife, he nonetheless performed many pious fruitive activities. Consequently, although he took the form of a woman, he was given a chance to be the daughter of a powerful king. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (6.41): prāpya puṇya-kṛtaṁ lokān uṣitvā śāśvatīḥ samāḥ śucīnāṁ śrīmatāṁ gehe yoga-bhraṣṭo ’bhijāyate “The unsuccessful yogī, after many, many years of enjoyment on the planets of the pious living entities, is born into a family of righteous people or into a family of rich aristocracy.” If a person falls from the path of bhakti-yoga, God realization, due to attachment to fruitive activity, philosophical speculation or mystic yoga, he is given a chance to take birth in a high and rich family. The higher authorities appointed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead thus render justice to the living entity according to the living entity’s desires. Although King Purañjana was overly absorbed in thoughts of his wife and thus became a woman, he took birth in the family of a king due to his previous pious activities. The conclusion is that all our activities are taken into consideration before we are awarded another body. Nārada Muni therefore advised Vyāsadeva that one should take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, devotional service, and abandon all ordinary occupational duties. This advice was also given by Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself. Although a devotee may fall from the path of spiritual consciousness, he will nonetheless attain a human body in the home of a devotee or a rich man. In this way one can resume his devotional service. |
TaSYaa& Sa JaNaYaa& c§- AaTMaJaaMaiSaTae+a<aaMa( ) YavqYaSa" Saá SauTaaNa( Saá d]iv@>aU>a*Ta" )) 30 )) tasyāṁ sa janayāṁ cakra ātmajām asitekṣaṇām yavīyasaḥ sapta sutān sapta draviḍa-bhūbhṛtaḥ SYNONYMS tasyām—through her; saḥ—the King; janayām cakre—begot; ātmajām—daughter; asita—blue or black; īkṣaṇām—whose eyes; yavīyasaḥ—younger, very powerful; sapta—seven; sutān—sons; sapta—seven; draviḍa—province of Draviḍa, or South India; bhū—of the land; bhṛtaḥ—kings. TRANSLATION King Malayadhvaja fathered one daughter, who had very black eyes. He also had seven sons, who later became rulers of that tract of land known as Draviḍa. Thus there were seven kings in that land. PURPORT King Malayadhvaja was a great devotee, and after he married the daughter of King Vidarbha, he gave her one nice daughter, whose eyes were black. Figuratively this means that the daughter of King Malayadhvaja was also bestowed with devotional service, for her eyes were always fixed on Kṛṣṇa. A devotee has no vision in his life other than Kṛṣṇa. The seven sons are the seven processes of devotional service—hearing, chanting, remembering, offering worship, offering prayers, rendering transcendental loving service and serving the lotus feet of the Lord. Of the nine types of devotional service, only seven were immediately given. The balance—friendship and surrendering everything—were to be developed later. In other words, devotional service is divided into two categories—namely vidhi-mārga and rāga-mārga. The process of becoming friends with the Lord and sacrificing everything for Him belongs to the category of rāga-mārga, the stage of developed devotional service. For the neophyte, the important processes are those of hearing and chanting (śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam), remembering Kṛṣṇa, worshiping the Deity in the temple, offering prayers and always engaging in the service of the Lord, and worshiping the lotus feet of the Lord. The word yavīyasaḥ indicates that these processes are very powerful. After a devotee engages in the processes of śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam/ arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyam [SB 7.5.23], and is able to secure these processes, he can later become a devotee capable of rendering spontaneous devotional service—namely sakhyam and ātma-nivedanam. Generally the great ācāryas who preach devotional service all over the world belong to the category of sakhyam ātma-nivedanam. A neophyte devotee cannot actually become a preacher. The neophyte is advised to execute devotional service in the seven other fields (śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam, etc.). If one can successfully execute the preliminary seven items, he can in the future be situated on the platform of sakhyam ātma-nivedanam. The specific mention of Draviḍa-deśa refers to the five Draviḍa-deśas in South India. All are very strong in rendering the preliminary devotional processes (śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam). Some great ācāryas, like Rāmānujācārya and Madhvācārya, also came from Draviḍa-deśa and became great preachers. They were all situated on the platform of sakhyam ātma-nivedanam. |
TEXT 31 WkE-k-SYaa>avtaeza& raJaàbuRdMabuRdMa( ) >aae+YaTae YaÜ&XaDarEMaRhq MaNvNTar& ParMa( )) 31 )) ekaikasyābhavat teṣāṁ rājann arbudam arbudam bhokṣyate yad-vaṁśa-dharair mahī manvantaraṁ param SYNONYMS eka-ekasya—of each one; abhavat—there became; teṣām—of them; rājan—O King; arbudam—ten million; arbudam—ten million; bhokṣyate—is ruled; yat—whose; vaṁśa-dharaiḥ—by descendants; mahī—the whole world; manu-antaram—up to the end of one Manu; param—and afterward. TRANSLATION My dear King Prācīnabarhiṣat, the sons of Malayadhvaja gave birth to many thousands and thousands of sons, and all of these have been protecting the entire world up to the end of one Manu’s life-span and even afterward. PURPORT There are fourteen Manus in one day of Brahmā. A manvantara, the life-span of one Manu, is given as 71 multiplied by 4,320,000 years. After one such Manu passes on, another Manu begins his life-span. In this way the life cycle of the universe is going on. As one Manu follows another, the cult of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is being imparted, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (4.1): śrī-bhagavān uvāca imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam vivasvān manave prāha manur ikṣvākave ’bravīt “The Blessed Lord said: I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, Vivasvān, and Vivasvān instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Ikṣvāku.” Vivasvān, the sun-god, imparted Bhagavad-gītā to one Manu, and this Manu imparted it to his son, who imparted it to yet another Manu. In this way the propagation of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is never stopped. No one should think that this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is a new movement. As confirmed by Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, it is a very, very old movement, for it has been passing down from one Manu to another. Among Vaiṣṇavas there may be some difference of opinion due to everyone’s personal identity, but despite all personal differences, the cult of Kṛṣṇa consciousness must go on. We can see that under the instructions of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Mahārāja began preaching the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement in an organized way within the past hundred years. The disciples of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Mahārāja are all Godbrothers, and although there are some differences of opinion, and although we are not acting conjointly, every one of us is spreading this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement according to his own capacity and producing many disciples to spread it all over the world. As far as we are concerned, we have already started the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, and many thousands of Europeans and Americans have joined this movement. Indeed, it is spreading like wildfire. The cult of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, based on the nine principles of devotional service (śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam/ arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ sakhyam ātma-nivedanam [SB 7.5.23]), will never be stopped. It will go on without distinction of caste, creed, color or country. No one can check it. The word bhokṣyate is very important in this verse. Just as a king gives protection to his citizens, these devotees, following the principles of devotional service, will give protection to all the people of the world. The people of the world are very much harassed by so-called religious-principled svāmīs, yogīs, karmīs and jñānīs, but none of these can show the right way to become elevated to the spiritual platform. There are primarily four parties spreading devotional service all over the universe. These are the Rāmānuja-sampradāya, the Madhva-sampradāya, the Viṣṇusvāmi-sampradāya and the Nimbārka-sampradāya. The Madhva-Gauḍīya-sampradāya in particular comes from Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. All these devotees are spreading this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement very widely and giving protection to innocent people who are being so much embarrassed by pseudo-avatāras, -svāmīs, -yogīs and others. |
TEXT 32 AGaSTYa" Pa[aGduihTarMauPaYaeMae Da*Tav]TaaMa( ) YaSYaa& d*!CYauTaae JaaTa wDMavahaTMaJaae MauiNa" )) 32 )) agastyaḥ prāg duhitaram upayeme dhṛta-vratām yasyāṁ dṛḍhacyuto jāta idhmavāhātmajo muniḥ SYNONYMS agastyaḥ—the great sage Agastya; prāk—first; duhitaram—daughter; upayeme—married; dhṛta-vratām—taken to vows; yasyām—through whom; dṛḍhacyutaḥ—named Dṛḍhacyuta; jātaḥ—was born; idhmavāha—named Idhmavāha; ātma-jaḥ—son; muniḥ—the great sage. TRANSLATION The great sage named Agastya married the first-born daughter of Malayadhvaja, the avowed devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. From her one son was born, whose name was Dṛḍhacyuta, and from him another son was born, whose name was Idhmavāha. PURPORT The name Agastya Muni is very significant. Agastya Muni represents the mind. The word agastya indicates that the senses do not act independently, and the word muni means “mind.” The mind is the center of all the senses, and thus the senses cannot work independent of the mind. When the mind takes to the cult of bhakti, it engages in devotional service. The cult of bhakti (bhakti-latā) is the first daughter of Malayadhvaja, and as previously described, her eyes are always upon Kṛṣṇa (asitekṣaṇām). One cannot render bhakti to any demigod. Bhakti can be rendered only to Viṣṇu (śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ [SB 7.5.23]). Thinking the Absolute Truth to be without form, the Māyāvādīs say that the word bhakti can apply to any form of worship. If this were the case, a devotee could imagine any demigod or any godly form and worship it. This, however, is not the real fact. The real fact is that bhakti can be applied only to Lord Viṣṇu and His expansions. Therefore bhakti-latā is dṛḍha-vrata, the great vow, for when the mind is completely engaged in devotional service, the mind does not fall down. If one tries to advance by other means—by karma-yoga or jñāna-yoga—one will fall down, but if one is fixed in bhakti, he never falls down. Thus from bhakti-latā the son Dṛḍhacyuta is born, and from Dṛḍhacyuta the next son, Idhmavāha, is born. The word idhma-vāha refers to one who carries wood for burning in a sacrifice when approaching a spiritual master. The point is that bhakti-latā, the cult of devotion, fixes one in his spiritual position. One so fixed never comes down, and he begets children who are strict followers of the śāstric injunctions. As said in the Vedas: tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet samit-pāṇiḥ śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham [MU tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet samit-pāṇiḥ śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham “To understand these things properly, one must humbly approach, with firewood in hand, a spiritual master who is learned in the Vedas and firmly devoted to the Absolute Truth.” [Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.2.12] In the line of devotional service, those who are initiated are strict followers of the Vedic scriptural injunctions. |
iv>aJYa TaNaYae>Ya" +Maa& raJaizRMaRl/YaßJa" ) AairraDaiYazu" k*-Z<a& Sa JaGaaMa ku-l/acl/Ma( )) 33 )) vibhajya tanayebhyaḥ kṣmāṁ rājarṣir malayadhvajaḥ ārirādhayiṣuḥ kṛṣṇaṁ sa jagāma kulācalam SYNONYMS vibhajya—having divided; tanayebhyaḥ—among his sons; kṣmām—the whole world; rāja-ṛṣiḥ—the great saintly king; malayadhvajaḥ—named Malayadhvaja; ārirādhayiṣuḥ—desiring to worship; kṛṣṇam—Lord Kṛṣṇa; saḥ—he; jagāma—went; kulācalam—unto Kulācala. TRANSLATION After this, the great saintly King Malayadhvaja divided his entire kingdom among his sons. Then, in order to worship Lord Kṛṣṇa with full attention, he went to a solitary place known as Kulācala. PURPORT Malayadhvaja, the great king, was certainly a mahā-bhāgavata, topmost devotee. By executing devotional service, he begot many sons and disciples for propagating the bhakti cult (śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ [SB 7.5.23]). Actually, the entire world should be divided among such disciples. Everyone should be engaged in preaching the cult of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In other words, when disciples are grown up and are able to preach, the spiritual master should retire and sit down in a solitary place to write and execute nirjana-bhajana. This means sitting silently in a solitary place and executing devotional service. This nirjana-bhajana, which is the silent worship of the Supreme Lord, is not possible for a neophyte devotee. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura never advised a neophyte devotee to go to a solitary place to engage in devotional service. Indeed, he has written a song in this connection: duṣṭa mana! tumi kisera vaiṣṇava? pratiṣṭhāra tare, nirjanera ghare, tava hari-nāma kevala kaitava “My dear mind, what kind of devotee are you? Simply for cheap adoration you sit in a solitary place and pretend to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, but this is all cheating.” Thus Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura advocated that every devotee, under the guidance of an expert spiritual master, preach the bhakti cult, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, all over the world. Only when one is mature can he sit in a solitary place and retire from preaching all over the world. Following this example, the devotees of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness now render service as preachers in various parts of the world. Now they can allow the spiritual master to retire from active preaching work. In the last stage of the spiritual master’s life, the devotees of the spiritual master should take preaching activities into their own hands. In this way the spiritual master can sit down in a solitary place and render nirjana-bhajana. |
XaqTaaeZ<avaTavzaRi<a +auiTPaPaaSae iPa[YaaiPa[Yae ) Sau%du"%e wiTa ÜNÜaNYaJaYaTSaMadXaRNa" )) 37 )) śītoṣṇa-vāta-varṣāṇi kṣut-pipāse priyāpriye sukha-duḥkhe iti dvandvāny ajayat sama-darśanaḥ SYNONYMS śīta—cold; uṣṇa—heat; vāta—wind; varṣāṇi—and rainy seasons; kṣut—hunger; pipāse—and thirst; priya—pleasant; apriye—and unpleasant; sukha—happiness; duḥkhe—and distress; iti—thus; dvandvāni—dualities; ajayat—he conquered; sama-darśanaḥ—equipoised. TRANSLATION Through austerity, King Malayadhvaja in body and mind gradually became equal to the dualities of cold and heat, happiness and distress, wind and rain, hunger and thirst, the pleasant and the unpleasant. In this way he conquered all relativities. PURPORT Liberation means becoming free from the relativities of the world. Unless one is self-realized, he has to undergo the dual struggle of the relative world. In Bhagavad-gītā Lord Kṛṣṇa advises Arjuna to conquer all relativities through tolerance. Lord Kṛṣṇa points out that it is the relativities like winter and summer that give us trouble in the material world. In the winter we do not like taking a bath, but in the summer we wish to take a bath twice, thrice or more a day. Thus Kṛṣṇa advises us not to be disturbed by such relativities and dualities when they come and go. The common man has to undergo much austerity to become equipoised before dualities. One who becomes agitated by the relativities of life has accepted a relative position and must therefore undergo the austerities prescribed in the śāstras to transcend the material body and put an end to material existence. King Malayadhvaja underwent severe austerities by leaving his home, going to Kulācala, taking his bath in the sacred rivers and eating only vegetables like stems, roots, seeds, flowers and leaves, avoiding any cooked food or grains. These are very, very austere practices. In this age it is very difficult to leave home and go to the forest or the Himalayas to adopt the processes of austerity. Indeed, it is almost impossible. If one is even advised to give up meat-eating, drinking, gambling and illicit sex, one will fail to do so. What, then, would a person do if he went to the Himalayas or Kulācala? Such acts of renunciation are not possible in this age; therefore Lord Kṛṣṇa has advised us to accept the bhakti-yoga process. Bhakti-yoga will automatically liberate a person from the dualities of life. In bhakti-yoga, Kṛṣṇa is the center, and Kṛṣṇa is always transcendental. Thus in order to transcend dualities, one must always engage in the service of the Lord, as confirmed by Bhagavad-gītā (14.26): māṁ ca yo ’vyabhicāreṇa bhakti-yogena sevate sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate “One who engages in full devotional service, who does not fall down in any circumstance, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman.” If one is factually engaged in the service of the Lord, bhakti-yoga, he will automatically control his senses, his tongue and so many other things. Once engaged in the bhakti-yoga process with all sincerity, one will have no chance of falling down. Even if one falls down, there is no loss. One’s devotional activities may be stunned or choked for the time being, but as soon as there is another chance, the practitioner begins from the point where he left off. |
TEXT 38 TaPaSaa ivÛYaa PaKvk-zaYaae iNaYaMaEYaRMaE" ) YauYauJae b]ø<YaaTMaaNa& iviJaTaa+aaiNal/aXaYa" )) 38 )) tapasā vidyayā pakva- kaṣāyo niyamair yamaiḥ yuyuje brahmaṇy ātmānaṁ vijitākṣānilāśayaḥ SYNONYMS tapasā—by austerity; vidyayā—by education; pakva—burned up; kaṣāyaḥ—all dirty things; niyamaiḥ—by regulative principles; yamaiḥ—by self-control; yuyuje—he fixed; brahmaṇi—in spiritual realization; ātmānam—his self; vijita—completely controlled; akṣa—senses; anila—life; āśayaḥ—consciousness. TRANSLATION By worshiping, executing austerities and following the regulative principles, King Malayadhvaja conquered his senses, his life and his consciousness. Thus he fixed everything on the central point of the Supreme Brahman [Kṛṣṇa]. PURPORT Whenever the word brahman appears, the impersonalists take this to mean the impersonal effulgence, the brahmajyoti. Actually, however, Parabrahman, the Supreme Brahman, is Kṛṣṇa, Vāsudeva. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (7.19), vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti: Vāsudeva extends everywhere as the impersonal Brahman. One cannot fix one’s mind upon an impersonal “something.” Bhagavad-gītā (12.5) therefore says, kleśo ’dhikataras teṣām avyaktāsakta-cetasām: “For those whose minds are attached to the unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Supreme, advancement is very troublesome.” Consequently, when it is said herein that King Malayadhvaja fixed his mind on Brahman, “Brahman” means the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva. |
TEXT 39 AaSTae SQaa<auirvEk-}a idVYa& vzRXaTa& iSQar" ) vaSaudeve >aGaviTa NaaNYaÜedaeÜhNa( riTaMa( )) 39 )) āste sthāṇur ivaikatra divyaṁ varṣa-śataṁ sthiraḥ vāsudeve bhagavati nānyad vedodvahan ratim SYNONYMS āste—remains; sthāṇuḥ—immovable; iva—like; ekatra—in one place; divyam—of the demigods; varṣa—years; śatam—one hundred; sthiraḥ—steady; vāsudeve—unto Lord Kṛṣṇa; bhagavati—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; na—not; anyat—anything else; veda—did know; udvahan—possessing; ratim—attraction. TRANSLATION In this way he stayed immovable in one place for one hundred years by the calculations of the demigods. After this time, he developed pure devotional attraction for Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and remained fixed in that position. PURPORT bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ “After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.” (Bg. 7.19) Vāsudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is everything, and one who knows this is the greatest of all transcendentalists. It is stated in Bhagavad-gītā that one realizes this after many, many births. This is also confirmed in this verse with the words divyaṁ varṣa-śatam (“one hundred years according to the calculations of the demigods”). According to the calculations of the demigods, one day (twelve hours) is equal to six months on earth. A hundred years of the demigods would equal thirty-six thousand earth years. Thus King Malayadhvaja executed austerities and penances for thirty-six thousand years. After this time, he became fixed in the devotional service of the Lord. To live on earth for so many years, one has to take birth many times. This confirms the conclusion of Kṛṣṇa. To come to the conclusion of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and remain fixed in the realization that Kṛṣṇa is everything, as well as render service unto Kṛṣṇa, are characteristics of the perfectional stage. As said in Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 22.62): kṛṣṇe bhakti kaile sarva-karma kṛta haya. When one comes to the conclusion that Kṛṣṇa is everything by worshiping or by rendering devotional service unto Kṛṣṇa, one actually becomes perfect in all respects. Not only must one come to the conclusion that Kṛṣṇa is everything, but he must remain fixed in this realization. This is the highest perfection of life, and it is this perfection that King Malayadhvaja attained at the end. |
Sa VYaaPak-TaYaaTMaaNa& VYaiTair¢-TaYaaTMaiNa ) ivÜaNa( SvPan wvaMaXaRSaai+a<a& ivrraMa h )) 40 )) sa vyāpakatayātmānaṁ vyatiriktatayātmani vidvān svapna ivāmarśa- sākṣiṇaṁ virarāma ha SYNONYMS saḥ—King Malayadhvaja; vyāpakatayā—by all-pervasiveness; ātmānam—the Supersoul; vyatiriktatayā—by differentiation; ātmani—in his own self; vidvān—perfectly educated; svapne—in a dream; iva—like; amarśa—of deliberation; sākṣiṇam—the witness; virarāma—became indifferent; ha—certainly. TRANSLATION King Malayadhvaja attained perfect knowledge by being able to distinguish the Supersoul from the individual soul. The individual soul is localized, whereas the Supersoul is all-pervasive. He became perfect in knowledge that the material body is not the soul but that the soul is the witness of the material body. PURPORT The conditioned soul is often frustrated in trying to understand the distinctions between the material body, the Supersoul and the individual soul. There are two types of Māyāvādī philosophers—the followers of the Buddhist philosophy and the followers of the Śaṅkara philosophy. The followers of Buddha do not recognize that there is anything beyond the body; the followers of Śaṅkara conclude that there is no separate existence of the Paramātmā, the Supersoul. The Śaṅkarites believe that the individual soul is identical with the Paramātmā in the ultimate analysis. But the Vaiṣṇava philosopher, who is perfect in knowledge, knows that the body is made of the external energy and that the Supersoul, the Paramātmā, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is sitting with the individual soul and is distinct from him. As Lord Kṛṣṇa states in Bhagavad-gītā (13.3): kṣetrajñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata kṣetra-kṣetrajñayor jñānaṁ yat taj jñānaṁ mataṁ mama “O scion of Bharata, you should understand that I am also the knower in all bodies, and to understand this body and its owner is called knowledge. That is My opinion.” The body is taken to be the field, and the individual soul is taken to be the worker in that field. Yet there is another, who is known as the Supersoul, who, along with the individual soul, simply witnesses. The individual soul works and enjoys the fruits of the body, whereas the Supersoul simply witnesses the activities of the individual soul but does not enjoy the fruits of those activities. The Supersoul is present in every field of activity, whereas the individual soul is present in his one localized body. King Malayadhvaja attained this perfection of knowledge and was able to distinguish between the soul and the Supersoul and the soul and the material body. |
TEXT 41 Saa+aaÙGavTaae¢e-Na Gauå<aa hir<aa Na*Pa ) ivéuÖjaNadqPaeNa Sfu-rTaa ivìTaaeMau%Ma( )) 41 )) sākṣād bhagavatoktena guruṇā hariṇā nṛpa viśuddha-jñāna-dīpena sphuratā viśvato-mukham SYNONYMS sākṣāt—directly; bhagavatā—by the Supreme Personality of Godhead; uktena—instructed; guruṇā—the spiritual master; hariṇā—by Lord Hari; nṛpa—O King; viśuddha—pure; jñāna—knowledge; dīpena—by the light of; sphuratā—enlightening; viśvataḥ-mukham—all angles of vision. TRANSLATION In this way King Malayadhvaja attained perfect knowledge because in his pure state he was directly instructed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By means of such enlightening transcendental knowledge, he could understand everything from all angles of vision. PURPORT In this verse the words sākṣād bhagavatoktena guruṇā hariṇā are very significant. The Supreme Personality of Godhead speaks directly to the individual soul when the devotee has completely purified himself by rendering devotional service to the Lord. Lord Kṛṣṇa confirms this also in Bhagavad-gītā (10.10): teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ yena mām upayānti te “To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.” The Lord is the Supersoul seated in everyone’s heart, and He acts as the caitya-guru, the spiritual master within. However, He gives direct instructions only to the advanced, pure devotees. In the beginning, when a devotee is serious and sincere, the Lord gives him directions from within to approach a bona fide spiritual master. When one is trained by the spiritual master according to the regulative principles of devotional service and is situated on the platform of spontaneous attachment for the Lord (rāga-bhakti), the Lord also gives instructions from within. Teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam [Bg. 10.10]. This distinct advantage is obtained by a liberated soul. Having attained this stage, King Malayadhvaja was directly in touch with the Supreme Lord and was receiving instructions from Him directly. |
TEXT 48 oitaïaeitaï raJazeR wMaaMaudiDaMae%l/aMa( ) dSYau>Ya" +a}abNDau>Yaae ib>YaTaq& PaaTauMahRiSa )) 48 )) uttiṣṭhottiṣṭha rājarṣe imām udadhi-mekhalām dasyubhyaḥ kṣatra-bandhubhyo bibhyatīṁ pātum arhasi SYNONYMS uttiṣṭha—please get up; uttiṣṭha—please get up; rāja-ṛṣe—O saintly king; imām—this earth; udadhi—by the ocean; mekhalām—surrounded; dasyubhyaḥ—from the rogues; kṣatra-bandhubhyaḥ—from the unclean kings; bibhyatīm—very much afraid; pātum—to protect; arhasi—you ought. TRANSLATION O best of kings, please get up! Get up! Just see this world surrounded by water and infested with rogues and so-called kings. This world is very much afraid, and it is your duty to protect her. PURPORT Whenever an ācārya comes, following the superior orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His representative, he establishes the principles of religion, as enunciated in Bhagavad-gītā. Religion means abiding by the orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Religious principles begin from the time one surrenders to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is the ācārya’s duty to spread a bona fide religious system and induce everyone to bow down before the Supreme Lord. One executes the religious principles by rendering devotional service, specifically the nine items like hearing, chanting and remembering. Unfortunately, when the ācārya disappears, rogues and nondevotees take advantage and immediately begin to introduce unauthorized principles in the name of so-called svāmīs, yogīs, philanthropists, welfare workers and so on. Actually, human life is meant for executing the orders of the Supreme Lord, and this is stated in Bhagavad-gītā (9.34): man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru mām evaiṣyasi yuktvaivam ātmānaṁ mat-parāyaṇaḥ “Engage your mind always in thinking of Me and become My devotee. Offer obeisances and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me.” The main business of human society is to think of the Supreme Personality of Godhead at all times, to become His devotees, to worship the Supreme Lord and to bow down before Him. The ācārya, the authorized representative of the Supreme Lord, establishes these principles, but when he disappears, things once again become disordered. The perfect disciples of the ācārya try to relieve the situation by sincerely following the instructions of the spiritual master. At the present moment practically the entire world is afraid of rogues and nondevotees; therefore this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is started to save the world from irreligious principles. Everyone should cooperate with this movement in order to bring about actual peace and happiness in the world. |
Ta}a PaUvRTar" k-iêTSa%a b]aø<a AaTMavaNa( ) SaaNTvYaNa( vLGauNaa SaaMana TaaMaah ådTaq& Pa[>aae )) 51 )) tatra pūrvataraḥ kaścit sakhā brāhmaṇa ātmavān sāntvayan valgunā sāmnā tām āha rudatīṁ prabho SYNONYMS tatra—in that place; pūrvataraḥ—previous; kaścit—someone; sakhā—friend; brāhmaṇaḥ—a brāhmaṇa; ātmavān—very learned scholar; sāntvayan—pacifying; valgunā—by very nice; sāmnā—mitigating words; tām—unto her; āha—he said; rudatīm—while she was crying; prabho—my dear King. TRANSLATION My dear King, one brāhmaṇa, who was an old friend of King Purañjana, came to that place and began to pacify the Queen with sweet words. PURPORT The appearance of an old friend in the form of a brāhmaṇa is very significant. In His Paramātmā feature, Kṛṣṇa is the old friend of everyone. According to Vedic injunction, Kṛṣṇa is sitting with the living entity side by side. According to the śruti-mantra (dvā suparṇā sayujā sakhāyāḥ), the Lord is sitting within the heart of every living entity as suhṛt, the best friend. The Lord is always eager to have the living entity come home, back to Godhead. Sitting with the living entity as witness, the Lord gives him all chances to enjoy himself materially, but whenever there is an opportunity, the Lord gives good counsel and advises the living entity to abandon trying to become happy through material adjustment and instead turn his face toward the Supreme Personality of Godhead and surrender unto Him. When one becomes serious to follow the mission of the spiritual master, his resolution is tantamount to seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As explained before, this means meeting the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the instruction of the spiritual master. This is technically called vāṇī-sevā. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura states in his Bhagavad-gītā commentary on the verse vyavasāyātmikā buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana (Bg. 2.41) that one should serve the words of the spiritual master. The disciple must stick to whatever the spiritual master orders. Simply by following on that line, one sees the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Paramātmā, appeared before the Queen as a brāhmaṇa, but why didn’t He appear in His original form as Śrī Kṛṣṇa? Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura remarks that unless one is very highly elevated in loving the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one cannot see Him as He is. Nonetheless, if one sticks to the principles enunciated by the spiritual master, somehow or other he is in association with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Since the Lord is in the heart, He can advise a sincere disciple from within. This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (10.10): teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ yena mām upayānti te “To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.” In conclusion, if a disciple is very serious to execute the mission of the spiritual master, he immediately associates with the Supreme Personality of Godhead by vāṇī or vapuḥ. This is the only secret of success in seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Instead of being eager to see the Lord in some bush of Vṛndāvana while at the same time engaging in sense gratification, if one instead sticks to the principle of following the words of the spiritual master, he will see the Supreme Lord without difficulty. Śrīla Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura has therefore said: bhaktis tvayi sthiratarā bhagavan yadi syād daivena naḥ phalati divya-kiśora-mūrtiḥ muktiḥ svayaṁ mukulitāñjali sevate ’smān dharmārtha-kāma-gatayaḥ samaya-pratīkṣāḥ “If I am engaged in devotional service unto You, my dear Lord, then very easily can I perceive Your presence everywhere. And as far as liberation is concerned, I think that liberation stands at my door with folded hands, waiting to serve me—and all material conveniences of dharma [religiosity], artha [economic development] and kāma [sense gratification] stand with her.” (Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta 107) If one is very highly advanced in devotional service, he will have no difficulty in seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If one engages in the service of the spiritual master, he not only sees the Supreme Personality of Godhead but attains liberation. As far as material conveniences are concerned, they automatically come, just as the maidservants of a queen follow the queen wherever she goes. Liberation is no problem for the pure devotee, and all material conveniences are simply awaiting him at all stages of life. |
AiPa SMariSa caTMaaNaMaivjaTaSa%& Sa%e ) ihTva Maa& PadMaiNvC^Na( >aaEMa>aaeGarTaae GaTa" )) 53 )) api smarasi cātmānam avijñāta-sakhaṁ sakhe hitvā māṁ padam anvicchan bhauma-bhoga-rato gataḥ SYNONYMS api smarasi—do you remember; ca—also; ātmānam—the Supersoul; avijñāta—unknown; sakham—friend; sakhe—O friend; hitvā—giving up; mām—Me; padam—position; anvicchan—desiring; bhauma—material; bhoga—enjoyment; rataḥ—attached to; gataḥ—you became. TRANSLATION The brāhmaṇa continued: My dear friend, even though you cannot immediately recognize Me, can’t you remember that in the past you had a very intimate friend? Unfortunately, you gave up My company and accepted a position as enjoyer of this material world. PURPORT As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (7.27): icchā-dveṣa-samutthena dvandva-mohena bhārata sarva-bhūtāni sammohaṁ sarge yānti parantapa “O scion of Bharata [Arjuna], O conqueror of the foe, all living entities are born into delusion, overcome by the dualities of desire and hate.” This is an explanation of how the living entity falls down into this material world. In the spiritual world there is no duality, nor is there hate. The Supreme Personality of Godhead expands Himself into many. In order to enjoy bliss more and more, the Supreme Lord expands Himself in different categories. As mentioned in the Varāha Purāṇa, He expands Himself in viṣṇu-tattva (the svāṁśa expansion) and in His marginal potency (the vibhinnāṁśa, or the living entity). These expanded living entities are innumerable, just as the minute molecules of sunshine are innumerable expansions of the sun. The vibhinnāṁśa expansions, the marginal potencies of the Lord, are the living entities. When the living entities desire to enjoy themselves, they develop a consciousness of duality and come to hate the service of the Lord. In this way the living entities fall into the material world. In the Prema-vivarta it is said: kṛṣṇa-bahirmukha hañā bhoga-vāñchā kare nikaṭa-stha māyā tāre jāpaṭiyā dhare The natural position of the living entity is to serve the Lord in a transcendental loving attitude. When the living entity wants to become Kṛṣṇa Himself or imitate Kṛṣṇa, he falls down into the material world. Since Kṛṣṇa is the supreme father, His affection for the living entity is eternal. When the living entity falls down into the material world, the Supreme Lord, through His svāṁśa expansion (Paramātmā), keeps company with the living entity. In this way the living entity may some day return home, back to Godhead. By misusing his independence, the living entity falls down from the service of the Lord and takes a position in this material world as an enjoyer. That is to say, the living entity takes his position within a material body. Wanting to take a very exalted position, the living entity instead becomes entangled in a repetition of birth and death. He selects his position as a human being, a demigod, a cat, a dog, a tree, etc. In this way the living entity selects a body out of the 8,400,000 forms and tries to satisfy himself by a variety of material enjoyment. The Supersoul, however, does not like him to do this. Consequently, the Supersoul instructs him to surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord then takes charge of the living entity. But unless the living entity is uncontaminated by material desires, he cannot surrender to the Supreme Lord. In Bhagavad-gītā (5.29) the Lord says: bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati “The sages, knowing Me as the ultimate purpose of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attain peace from the pangs of material miseries.” The Supreme Lord is the supreme friend of everyone; however, no one can take advantage of the supreme friend’s instructions while making his own plans to become happy and entangling himself in the modes of material nature. When there is creation, the living entities take on different forms according to past desires. This means that all the species or forms of life are simultaneously created. Darwin’s theory stating that no human being existed from the beginning but that humans evolved after many, many years is simply a nonsensical theory. From Vedic literature we find that the first creature within the universe is Lord Brahmā. Being the most intelligent personality, Lord Brahmā could take charge of creating all the variety found within this material world. |
TEXT 55 Sa Tv& ivhaYa Maa& bNDaae GaTaae Ga]aMYaMaiTaMaRhqMa( ) ivcrNa( PadMad]a+aq" k-YaaiciàiMaRTa& iñYaa )) 55 )) sa tvaṁ vihāya māṁ bandho gato grāmya-matir mahīm vicaran padam adrākṣīḥ kayācin nirmitaṁ striyā SYNONYMS saḥ—that swan; tvam—yourself; vihāya—leaving; mām—Me; bandho—O friend; gataḥ—went; grāmya—material; matiḥ—whose consciousness; mahīm—to earth; vicaran—traveling; padam—position; adrākṣīḥ—you saw; kayācit—by someone; nirmitam—manufactured; striyā—by a woman. TRANSLATION My dear friend, you are now My very same friend. Since you left Me, you have become more and more materialistic, and not seeing Me, you have been traveling in different forms throughout this material world, which was created by some woman. PURPORT When the living entity falls down, he goes into the material world, which was created by the external energy of the Lord. This external energy is described herein as “some woman,” or prakṛti. This material world is composed of material elements, ingredients supplied by the mahat-tattva, the total material energy. The material world, created by this external energy, becomes the so-called home of the conditioned soul. Within this material world the conditioned soul accepts different apartments, or different bodily forms, and then travels about. Sometimes he travels in the higher planetary systems and sometimes in the lower systems. Sometimes he travels in higher species of life and sometimes in lower species. He has been wandering within this material universe since time immemorial. As explained by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu: brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja (Cc. Madhya 19.151) The living entity wanders into many species of life, but he is fortunate when he once again meets his friend, either in person or through His representative. Actually, it is Kṛṣṇa who personally advises all living entities to return home, back to Godhead. Sometimes Kṛṣṇa sends His representative, who, delivering Kṛṣṇa’s very message, canvasses all living entities to return home, back to Godhead. Unfortunately the living entity is so greatly attached to material enjoyment that he does not take the instructions of Kṛṣṇa or His representative very seriously. This material tendency is mentioned in this verse as grāmya-matiḥ (sense gratification). The word mahīm means “within this material world.” All living entities within this material world are sensually inclined. Consequently they become entangled in different types of bodies and suffer the pangs of material existence. |
ivPa<aSTau i§-YaaXai¢->aURTaPa[k*-iTarVYaYaa ) Xa¢-yDaqXa" PauMaa&STv}a Pa[ivíae NaavbuDYaTae )) 58 )) vipaṇas tu kriyā-śaktir bhūta-prakṛtir avyayā śakty-adhīśaḥ pumāṁs tv atra praviṣṭo nāvabudhyate SYNONYMS vipaṇaḥ—stores; tu—then; kriyā-śaktiḥ—the energy for activities, or the working senses; bhūta—the five gross elements; prakṛtiḥ—the material elements; avyayā—eternal; śakti—the energy; adhīśaḥ—controller; pumān—man; tu—then; atra—here; praviṣṭaḥ—entered; na—does not; avabudhyate—become subjected to knowledge. TRANSLATION The five stores are the five working sensory organs. They transact their business through the combined forces of the five elements, which are eternal. Behind all this activity is the soul. The soul is a person and an enjoyer in reality. However, because he is now hidden within the city of the body, he is devoid of knowledge. PURPORT The living entity enters the material creation with the aid of the five elements—earth, water, fire, air and ether—and thus his body is formed. Although the living entity is working from within, he is nonetheless unknown. The living entity enters the material creation, but because he is bewildered by the material energy, he appears to be hidden. The bodily conception of life is prominent because of ignorance (nāvabudhyate). Intelligence is described in the feminine gender, but owing to her prominence in all activities, she is described in this verse as adhīśaḥ, the controller. The living entity lives by means of fire, water and food grains. It is through the combination of these three that the body is maintained. Consequently the body is called prakṛti, material creation. All the elements gradually combine to form flesh, bone, blood and so on. All these appear as various apartments. It is said in the Vedas that the digested foods are ultimately divided into three. The solid portion becomes stool, and the semiliquid portion turns into flesh. The liquid portion turns yellow and is again divided into three. One of these liquid portions is called urine. Similarly, the fiery portion is divided into three, and one is called bone. Out of the five elements, fire, water and food grains are very important. These three are mentioned in the previous verse, whereas sky (ether) and air are not mentioned. This is all explained in Bhagavad-gītā (13.20): prakṛtiṁ puruṣaṁ caiva viddhy anādī ubhāv api vikārāṁś ca guṇāṁś caiva viddhi prakṛti-sambhavān “Material nature and the living entities should be understood to be beginningless. Their transformations and the modes of matter are products of material nature.” prakṛti, material nature, and puruṣa, the living entity, are eternal. When they both come in contact, there are different reactions and manifestations. All of them should be considered the results of the interaction of the three modes of material nature. |
TEXT 60 Na Tv& ivd>aRduihTaa NaaYa& vqr" Sauôtav ) Na PaiTaSTv& PaurÅNYaa åÖae NavMau%e YaYaa )) 60 )) na tvaṁ vidarbha-duhitā nāyaṁ vīraḥ suhṛt tava na patis tvaṁ purañjanyā ruddho nava-mukhe yayā SYNONYMS na—not; tvam—you; vidarbha-duhitā—daughter of Vidarbha; na—not; ayam—this; vīraḥ—hero; su-hṛt—well-wishing husband; tava—your; na—not; patiḥ—husband; tvam—you; purañjanyāḥ—of Purañjanī; ruddhaḥ—captured; nava-mukhe—in the body having nine gates; yayā—by the material energy. TRANSLATION Actually, you are not the daughter of Vidarbha, nor is this man, Malayadhvaja, your well-wishing husband. Nor were you the actual husband of Purañjanī. You were simply captivated in this body of nine gates. PURPORT In the material world many living entities come into contact with one another and, increasing their attachment to a particular type of body, become related as father, husband, mother, wife, etc. Actually every living entity is a separate individual being, and it is because of his contact with matter that he comes together with other bodies and becomes falsely related. False bodies create various associations in the name of family, community, society and nationality. Actually every living entity is part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but the living entities are overly engrossed in the material body. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, appears and gives instructions in the form of Bhagavad-gītā and Vedic literatures. The Supreme Lord gives these instructions because He is the eternal friend of the living entities. His instructions are important because by them the living entity can obtain liberation from bodily engagement. As water passes down a river, many straws and grasses are carried from the shore. These straws and grasses come together in the river’s current, but when the waves toss this way and that, they are separated and carried somewhere else. Similarly, the innumerable living entities within this material world are being carried by the waves of material nature. Sometimes the waves bring them together, and they form friendships and relate to one another on a bodily basis of family, community or nationality. Eventually they are thrown out of association by the waves of material nature. This process has been going on since the creation of material nature. In this regard, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura sings: khāccha hābuḍubu, bhai jīva kṛṣṇa-dāsa, ei viśvāsa, karle ta’ āra duḥkha nāi “My dear living entities, you are being carried away by the waves of material nature. Sometimes you are on the surface, sometimes you are being drowned. In this way your eternal life is being spoiled. If you simply catch hold of Kṛṣṇa and take shelter of His lotus feet, you will once again get free from all the miserable material conditions.” In this verse the words suhṛt (“well-wisher”) and tava (“your”) are very significant. One’s so-called husband, relative, son, father or whatever cannot actually be a well-wisher. The only actual well-wisher is Kṛṣṇa Himself, as Kṛṣṇa confirms in Bhagavad-gītā (5.29): suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānām. Society, friendship, love and well-wishers are all simply results of being packed in different bodies. One should know this well and try to get out of this bodily encagement into which one is thrown birth after birth. One should take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, and return home, back to Godhead. |
MaaYaa ùeza MaYaa Sa*ía YaTPauMaa&Sa& iñYa& SaTaqMa( ) MaNYaSae Naae>aYa& YaÜE h&SaaE PaXYaavYaaeGaRiTaMa( )) 61 )) māyā hy eṣā mayā sṛṣṭā yat pumāṁsaṁ striyaṁ satīm manyase nobhayaṁ yad vai haṁsau paśyāvayor gatim SYNONYMS māyā—illusory energy; hi—certainly; eṣā—this; mayā—by Me; sṛṣṭā—created; yat—from which; pumāṁsam—a male; striyam—a female; satīm—chaste; manyase—you think; na—not; ubhayam—both; yat—because; vai—certainly; haṁsau—freed from material contamination; paśya—just see; āvayoḥ—our; gatim—factual position. TRANSLATION Sometimes you think yourself a man, sometimes a chaste woman and sometimes a neutral eunuch. This is all because of the body, which is created by the illusory energy. This illusory energy is My potency, and actually both of us—you and I—are pure spiritual identities. Now just try to understand this. I am trying to explain our factual position. PURPORT The factual position of both the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the living entity is qualitatively one. The Supreme Lord is the Supreme Spirit, the Supersoul, and the living entity is the individual spiritual soul. Even though both of them are original spiritual identities, the living entity forgets his identity when he comes in contact with material nature and becomes conditioned. At such a time he identifies himself as a product of the material nature. Because of the material body, he forgets that he is the eternal (sanātana) part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is confirmed in this way: mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ [Bg. 15.7]. The word sanātana is found in several places in Bhagavad-gītā. Both the Lord and the living entity are sanātana (eternal), and there is also a place known as sanātana, beyond this material nature. The real residence of both the living entity and God is the domain of sanātana, not this material world. The material world is the temporary, external energy of the Lord, and the living entity is placed in this material world because he wanted to imitate the position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this material world he tries to enjoy his senses to his best capacity. All the activities of the conditioned soul within this material world are perpetually taking place in different types of bodies, but when the living entity acquires developed consciousness, he should try to rectify his situation and again become a member of the spiritual world. The process by which one can return home, back to Godhead, is bhakti-yoga, sometimes called sanātana-dharma. Instead of accepting a temporary occupational duty based on the material body, one should take to the process of sanātana-dharma, or bhakti-yoga, so that he can put an end to this perpetual bondage in material bodies and return home, back to Godhead. As long as human society works on the basis of false material identification, all the so-called advancements of science and philosophy are simply useless. They only serve to mislead human society. Andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānāḥ. In the material world, the blind simply lead the blind. |
TEXT 63 YaQaa Pauåz AaTMaaNaMaek-MaadXaRc+auzae" ) iÜDaa>aUTaMave+aeTa TaQaEvaNTarMaavYaae" )) 63 )) yathā puruṣa ātmānam ekam ādarśa-cakṣuṣoḥ dvidhābhūtam avekṣeta tathaivāntaram āvayoḥ SYNONYMS yathā—as; puruṣaḥ—the living entity; ātmānam—his body; ekam—one; ādarśa—in a mirror; cakṣuṣoḥ—by the eyes; dvidhā-ābhūtam—existing as two; avekṣeta—sees; tathā—similarly; eva—certainly; antaram—difference; āvayoḥ—between ourselves. TRANSLATION As a person sees the reflection of his body in a mirror to be one with himself and not different, whereas others actually see two bodies, so in our material condition, in which the living being is affected and yet not affected, there is a difference between God and the living entity. PURPORT Being affected by the conditioning of matter, Māyāvādī philosophers cannot see the difference between the Supreme Lord and the living entity. When the sun is reflected in a pot of water, the sun knows that there is no difference between himself and the reflected sun in the water. Those in ignorance, however, perceive that there are many small suns reflected in each and every pot. As far as the brilliance is concerned, there is brilliance both in the original sun and in the reflections, but the reflections are small, whereas the original sun is very large. Vaiṣṇava philosophers conclude that the living entity is simply a small sample of the original Supreme Personality of Godhead. Qualitatively, God and the living entities are one, but quantitatively the living entities are small fragments of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Supreme Lord is full, powerful and opulent. In the previous verse, the Lord says, “My dear friend, you and I are not different.” This nondifference refers to qualitative oneness, for it was not necessary for the Paramātmā, the Supreme Personality, to remind the conditioned soul that he is not one in quantity. The self-realized soul never thinks that he and the Supreme Personality of Godhead are one in every respect. Although he and the Supreme Personality of Godhead are one in quality, the living entity is prone to forget his spiritual identity, whereas the Supreme Personality never forgets. This is the difference between lipta and alipta. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is eternally alipta, uncontaminated by the external energy. The conditioned soul, however, being in contact with material nature, forgets his real identity; therefore when he sees himself in the conditioned state, he identifies himself with the body. For the Supreme Personality of Godhead, however, there is no difference between the body and the soul. He is completely soul; He has no material body. Although the Supersoul, Paramātmā, and the individual soul are both within the body, the Supersoul is devoid of designation, whereas the conditioned soul is designated by his particular type of body. The Supersoul is called antaryāmī, and He is extensive. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (13.3). Kṣetrajñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata: “O scion of Bharata, you should understand that I am also the knower in all bodies.” The Supersoul is present in everyone’s body, whereas the individual soul is conditioned in one particular type of body. The individual soul cannot understand what is taking place in another’s body, but the Supersoul knows very well what is happening in all bodies. In other words, the Supersoul is always present in His full spiritual position, whereas the individual soul is prone to forget himself. Nor is the individual soul present everywhere. Generally in his conditioned state the individual soul cannot understand his relationship with the Supersoul, but sometimes, when he is free from all conditional existence, he can see the real difference between the Supersoul and himself. When the Supersoul tells the conditioned soul, “You and I are one and the same,” it is to remind the conditioned soul of his spiritual identity as being qualitatively one. In the Third Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.28.40), it is said: yatholmukād visphuliṅgād dhūmād vāpi sva-sambhavāt apy ātmatvenābhimatād yathāgniḥ pṛthag ulmukāt Fire has different features. There is flame, the sparks and the smoke. Although these are one in quality, there is still a difference between the fire, the flame, the spark and the smoke. The living entity becomes conditioned, but the Supreme Personality of Godhead is different because He does not become conditioned at any point. In the Vedas it is stated: ātmā tathā pṛthag draṣṭā bhagavān brahma-saṁjñitaḥ. Ātmā is the individual soul as well as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the seer of everything. Although both are spirit, there is always a difference. In the smṛti it is also said: yathāgneḥ kṣudrā visphuliṅgā vyuccaranti. Just as sparks manifest in a large fire, similarly the small individual souls are present in the big spiritual flame. In Bhagavad-gītā (9.4) Lord Kṛṣṇa says, mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni na cāhaṁ teṣv avasthitaḥ: “All beings are in Me, but I am not in them.” Although all living beings are resting in Him, as small fiery sparks rest on a large flame, both are differently situated. Similarly, in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa it is said: eka-deśa-sthitasyāgner jyotsnā vistāriṇī yathā parasya brahmaṇaḥ śaktis tathedam akhilaṁ jagat “Fire is situated in one place, but it distributes heat and light. Similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is distributing His energies in different ways.” The living entity is but one of these energies (marginal energy). The energy and the energetic are one in one sense, but they are differently situated as energy and the energetic. Similarly, the sac-cid-ānanda form confirmed in Brahma-saṁhitā (īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ [Bs. 5.1]) is different from that of the living entity in both his conditioned and liberated states. Only atheists consider the living entity and the Personality of Godhead equal in all respects. Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore says, māyāvādi-bhāṣya śunile haya sarva-nāśa: “If one follows the instructions of Māyāvādī philosophers and believes that the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the individual soul are one, his understanding of real philosophy is forever doomed.” |
TEXT 64 Wv& Sa MaaNaSaae h&Saae h&SaeNa Pa[iTabaeiDaTa" ) SvSQaSTaÜyi>acare<a NaíaMaaPa PauNa" SMa*iTaMa( )) 64 )) evaṁ sa mānaso haṁso haṁsena pratibodhitaḥ sva-sthas tad-vyabhicāreṇa naṣṭām āpa punaḥ smṛtim SYNONYMS evam—thus; saḥ—he (the individual soul); mānasaḥ—living together within the heart; haṁsaḥ—like the swan; haṁsena—by the other swan; pratibodhitaḥ—being instructed; sva-sthaḥ—situated in self-realization; tat-vyabhicāreṇa—by being separated from the Supersoul; naṣṭām—which was lost; āpa—gained; punaḥ—again; smṛtim—real memory. TRANSLATION In this way both swans live together in the heart. When the one swan is instructed by the other, he is situated in his constitutional position. This means he regains his original Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which was lost because of his material attraction. PURPORT Here it is clearly stated: haṁso haṁsena pratibodhitaḥ. The individual soul and the Supersoul are both compared to swans (haṁsa) because they are white, or uncontaminated. One swan, however, is superior and is the instructor of the other. When the inferior swan is separated from the other swan, he is attracted to material enjoyment. This is the cause of his falldown. When he hears the instructions of the other swan, he understands his real position and is again revived to his original consciousness. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, comes down (avatāra) to deliver His devotees and kill the demons. He also gives His sublime instructions in the form of Bhagavad-gītā. The individual soul has to understand his position by the grace of the Lord and the spiritual master because the text of Bhagavad-gītā cannot be understood simply by academic qualifications. One has to learn Bhagavad-gītā from a realized soul. tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ “Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth.” (Bg. 4.34) Thus one has to select a bona fide spiritual master and become enlightened to his original consciousness. In this way the individual soul can understand that he is always subordinate to the Supersoul. As soon as he declines to remain subordinate and tries to become an enjoyer, he begins his material conditioning. When he abandons this spirit of being an individual owner or enjoyer, he becomes situated in his liberated state. The word sva-sthaḥ, meaning “situated in one’s original position,” is very significant in this verse. When one gives up his unwanted attitude of superiority, he becomes situated in his original position. The word tad-vyabhicāreṇa is also significant, for it indicates that when one is separated from God due to disobedience, his real sense is lost. Again, by the grace of Kṛṣṇa and guru, he can be properly situated in his liberated position. These verses are spoken by Śrīla Nārada Muni, and his purpose in speaking them is to revive our consciousness. Although the living entity and the Supersoul are one in quality, the individual soul has to pursue the instruction of the Supersoul. That is the state of liberation. |
TEXT 65 bihRZMaàeTadDYaaTMa& Paarae+Yae<a Pa[diXaRTaMa( ) YaTParae+aiPa[Yaae devae >aGavaNa( ivì>aavNa" )) 65 )) barhiṣmann etad adhyātmaṁ pārokṣyeṇa pradarśitam yat parokṣa-priyo devo bhagavān viśva-bhāvanaḥ SYNONYMS barhiṣman—O King Prācīnabarhi; etat—this; adhyātmam—narration of self-realization; pārokṣyeṇa—indirectly; pradarśitam—instructed; yat—because; parokṣa-priyaḥ—interesting by indirect description; devaḥ—the Supreme Lord; bhagavān—the Personality of Godhead; viśva-bhāvanaḥ—the cause of all causes. TRANSLATION My dear King Prācīnabarhi, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the cause of all causes, is celebrated to be known indirectly. Thus I have described the story of Purañjana to you. Actually it is an instruction for self-realization. PURPORT There are many similar stories in the purāṇas for self-realization. As stated in the Vedas: parokṣa-priyā iva hi devāḥ. There are many stories in the Purāṇas that are intended to interest ordinary men in transcendental subjects, but actually these refer to real facts. They are not to be considered stories without a transcendental purpose. Some of them refer to real historical facts. One should be interested, however, in the real purport of the story. Indirect instruction is quickly understandable for a common man. Factually the path of bhakti-yoga is the path of hearing directly about the pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead (śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ [SB 7.5.23]), but those who are not interested in hearing directly about the activities of the Lord, or who cannot understand them, can very effectively hear such stories and fables as this one narrated by Nārada Muni. The following is a glossary of some of the important words in this chapter. Ādeśa-kārī. The actions resulting from sinful activities. Agastya. The mind. Amātya. The governor of the senses, the mind. Arbuda-arbuda. Various types of śravaṇa and kīrtana of the Supreme Lord’s name, quality, form and so on. Ari. Impediments like disease. Bhoga. Enjoyment. Herein this word refers to real enjoyment in spiritual life. Bhṛtya. The servants of the body, namely the senses. Draviḍa-rāja. Devotional service or a person eligible to act in devotional service. Dvāra. The doors of the body, such as the eyes and ears. Gṛha. Home. For spiritual cultivation one requires an undisturbed place or the good association of devotees. Idhmavāha. The devotee who approaches the spiritual master. Idhma refers to wood that is taken to burn as fuel for a fire. A brahmacārī is supposed to take this idhma to ignite the fire used in performing sacrifices. By spiritual instruction a brahmacāri is trained to ignite a fire and offer oblations in the morning. He is supposed to go to the spiritual master to take lessons on transcendental subject matter, and the Vedic injunction is that when approaching the spiritual master one must carry with him fuel to perform yajñas, or sacrifices. The exact Vedic injunction is as follows: tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet samit-pāṇiḥ śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham [MU tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet samit-pāṇiḥ śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham “To understand these things properly, one must humbly approach, with firewood in hand, a spiritual master who is learned in the Vedas and firmly devoted to the Absolute Truth.” [Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.2.12] “To learn transcendental subject matter, one must approach the spiritual master. In doing so, he should carry fuel to burn in sacrifice. The symptom of such a spiritual master is that he is expert in understanding the Vedic conclusion, and therefore he constantly engages in the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.2.12) By serving such a bona fide spiritual master, gradually a conditioned soul becomes detached from material enjoyment and invariably makes progress in spiritual realization under the direction of the spiritual master. Those who are misled by the illusory energy are never interested in approaching a spiritual master to make life successful. Jāyā. Intelligence. Jīrṇa-sarpa. The fatigued air of life. Kālakanyā. The invalidity of old age. Kāma. A high fever. Kulācala. The place where there is no disturbance. Kuṭumbinī. Intelligence. Madirekṣaṇā. Madirekṣaṇā refers to one whose eyes are so attractive that one who observes them becomes maddened by her. In other words, madirekṣaṇā means a very beautiful young girl. According to Jīva Gosvāmī, madirekṣaṇā means the personified deity of bhakti. If one is attracted by the bhakti cult, he becomes engaged in the service of the Lord and the spiritual master, and thus his life becomes successful. Vaidarbhī, the woman, became a follower of her husband. As she left her comfortable home for the service of her husband, a serious student of spiritual understanding must give up everything for the service of the spiritual master. As stated by Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādaḥ: if one wants actual success in life, he must strictly follow the instructions of the spiritual master. By following such instructions, one is sure to make rapid progress in spiritual life. This statement by Viśvanātha Cakravartī is in pursuance of the following injunction from the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (6.23): yasya deve parā bhaktir yathā deve tathā gurau tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ prakāśante mahātmanaḥ [ŚU yathā deve tathā gurau tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ prakāśante mahātmanaḥ “Unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master, all the imports of Vedic knowledge are automatically revealed.” (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.23) ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ “No one can understand Kṛṣṇa as He is by the blunt material senses. But He reveals Himself to the devotees, being pleased with them for their transcendental loving service unto Him.” (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.234) bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ tato māṁ tattvato jñātvā viśate tad-anantaram “One can understand the Supreme Personality as He is only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of the Supreme Lord by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God.” (Bg. 18.55) These are Vedic instructions. One must have full faith in the words of the spiritual master and similar faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then the real knowledge of ātmā and Paramātmā and the distinction between matter and spirit will be automatically revealed. This ātma-tattva, or spiritual knowledge, will be revealed within the core of a devotee’s heart because of his having taken shelter of the lotus feet of a mahājana such as Prahlāda Mahārāja. “Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master are all the imports of Vedic knowledge automatically revealed.” In the Chāndogya Upaniṣad it is said, ācāryavān puruṣo veda: “One who approaches a bona fide spiritual master can understand everything about spiritual realization.” Malayadhvaja. A nice devotee who is like sandalwood. Pañcāla. The five sense objects. Paricchada. The total aggregate of the senses. Paura-jana. The seven elements that constitute the body. Pautra. Patience and gravity. Prajvāra. A kind of fever called viṣṇu jvāra. Pratikriyā. Counteracting agents such as mantras and medicines. Pura-pālaka. The life air. Putra. Consciousness. Sainika. The condition of threefold miseries. Sapta-suta. The seven sons, namely hearing, chanting, remembering, offering prayers, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, worshiping the Deity and becoming a servant of the Lord. Sauhṛdya. Endeavor. Suta. The son of Vaidarbhī, or, in other words, one who is somewhat advanced in fruitive activities and who comes in contact with a devotee spiritual master. Such a person becomes interested in the subject matter of devotional service. Vaidarbhī. The woman who was formerly a man but took birth as a woman in his next life because of too much attachment to woman. Darbha means kuśa grass. In fruitive activities, or karma-kāṇḍīya ceremonies, one requires kuśa grass. Thus vaidarbhī refers to one who takes birth in a family of karma-kāṇḍīya understanding. However, if by karma-kāṇḍa activities one by chance comes in contact with a devotee, as Vaidarbhī did when she married Malayadhvaja, his life becomes successful. He then pursues the devotional service of the Lord. The conditioned soul becomes liberated simply by following the instructions of the bona fide spiritual master. Vidarbha-rājasiṁha. The best of persons who are expert in fruitive activities. Vīrya. One who has mercy. Yavana. The servant of Yamarāja. Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Fourth Canto, Twenty-eighth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “Purañjana Becomes a Woman in the Next Life.” |
TEXT 1 Pa[acqNabihRåvac >aGav&STae vcae_SMaai>aNaR SaMYaGavGaMYaTae ) k-vYaSTaiÜJaaNaiNTa Na vYa& k-MaRMaaeihTaa" )) 1 )) prācīnabarhir uvāca bhagavaṁs te vaco ’smābhir na samyag avagamyate kavayas tad vijānanti na vayaṁ karma-mohitāḥ SYNONYMS prācīnabarhiḥ uvāca—King Prācīnabarhi said; bhagavan—O my lord; te—your; vacaḥ—words; asmābhiḥ—by us; na—never; samyak—perfectly; avagamyate—are understood; kavayaḥ—those who are expert; tat—that; vijānanti—can understand; na—never; vayam—we; karma—by fruitive activities; mohitāḥ—enchanted. TRANSLATION King Prācīnabarhi replied: My dear lord, we could not appreciate completely the purport of your allegorical story of King Purañjana. Actually, those who are perfect in spiritual knowledge can understand, but for us, who are overly attached to fruitive activities, to realize the purpose of your story is very difficult. PURPORT In Bhagavad-gītā (7.13) Lord Kṛṣṇa says: tribhir guṇamayair bhāvair ebhiḥ sarvam idaṁ jagat mohitaṁ nābhijānāti mām ebhyaḥ param avyayam “Deluded by the three modes [goodness, passion and ignorance], the whole world does not know Me, who am above the modes and inexhaustible.” Generally people are enchanted by the three modes of material nature and therefore practically unable to understand that behind all materialistic activities in the cosmic manifestation is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. Generally when people are engaged in sinful or pious activities, they are not perfect in knowledge of devotional service. The allegorical story narrated by Nārada Muni to King Barhiṣmān is especially meant to engage conditioned souls in devotional service. The entire story, narrated allegorically, is easily understood by a person in devotional service, but those who are engaged not in devotional service but in sense gratification cannot perfectly understand it. That is admitted by King Barhiṣmān. This Twenty-ninth Chapter describes that by too much attachment for women one becomes a woman in the next life, but a person who associates with the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His representative becomes free from all material attachments and is thus liberated. |
TEXT 3 Yaae_ivjaTaaôTaSTaSYa PauåzSYa Sa%eìr" ) Yaà ivjaYaTae PauiM>aNaaRMai>avaR i§-YaaGau<aE" )) 3 )) yo ’vijñātāhṛtas tasya puruṣasya sakheśvaraḥ yan na vijñāyate pumbhir nāmabhir vā kriyā-guṇaiḥ SYNONYMS yaḥ—he who; avijñāta—unknown; āhṛtaḥ—described; tasya—of him; puruṣasya—of the living entity; sakhā—the eternal friend; īśvaraḥ—the master; yat—because; na—never; vijñāyate—is understood; pumbhiḥ—by the living entities; nāmabhiḥ—by names; vā—or; kriyā-guṇaiḥ—by activities or qualities. TRANSLATION The person I have described as unknown is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master and eternal friend of the living entity. Since the living entities cannot realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead by material names, activities or qualities, He remains everlastingly unknown to the conditioned soul. PURPORT Because the Supreme Personality of Godhead is unknown to the conditioned soul, He is sometimes described in Vedic literatures as nirākāra, avijñāta or avāṅ-mānasa-gocara. Actually it is a fact that the Supreme Personality of Godhead cannot be perceived by material senses as far as His form, name, quality, pastimes or paraphernalia are concerned. However, when one is spiritually advanced, one can understand the name, form, qualities, pastimes and paraphernalia of the Supreme Lord. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (18.55). Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ: one can understand in truth the Supreme Personality of Godhead only when one is engaged in devotional service. Ordinary persons engaged in pious and impious activities cannot understand the form, name and activities of the Lord. The devotee, however, can know the Personality of Godhead in many respects. He can understand that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, that His address is Goloka Vṛndāvana and that His activities are all spiritual. Because the Lord’s form and activities cannot be understood by materialistic people, He is described by the śāstras as nirākāra, that is, one whose form cannot be ascertained by a materialistic person. This does not mean that the Supreme Personality of Godhead has no form; it means that it is not understood by the karmīs, or fruitive actors. His form is described in Brahma-saṁhitā as sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha [Bs. 5.1]. As confirmed by the Padma Purāṇa: ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ [BRS. na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ “No one can understand the transcendental nature of the name, form, quality and pastimes of Śrī Kṛṣṇa through his materially contaminated senses. Only when one becomes spiritually saturated by transcendental service to the Lord are the transcendental name, form, quality and pastimes of the Lord revealed to him.” (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.234) “No one can understand Kṛṣṇa as He is by utilizing the blunt material senses. However, the Lord reveals Himself to His devotees, being pleased with them because of their transcendental loving service rendered unto Him.” Since the name, form, qualities and activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, cannot be understood by the material senses, He is also called adhokṣaja, meaning “beyond sense perception.” When the senses are purified by devotional activity, the devotee understands everything about the Lord by the Lord’s grace. In this verse the words pumbhir nāmabhir vā kriyā-guṇaiḥ are especially significant because God, Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has many names, activities and qualities, although none of them are material. Despite the fact that all these names, activities and pastimes are mentioned in the śāstras and understood by the devotees, the karmīs (fruitive laborers) cannot understand them. Nor can the jñānīs (mental speculators) understand them. Although there are thousands of names of Lord Viṣṇu, the karmīs and jñānīs intermingle the names of the Supreme Godhead with the names of demigods and human beings. Because they cannot understand the actual name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they take for granted that any name can be accepted. They believe that since the Absolute Truth is impersonal, they can call Him by any name. Otherwise, they maintain, He has no name. This is not a fact. Here it is clearly stated: nāmabhir vā kriyā-guṇaiḥ. The Lord has specific names such as Rāma, Kṛṣṇa, Govinda, Nārāyaṇa, Viṣṇu and Adhokṣaja. There are indeed many names, but the conditioned soul cannot understand them. |
TEXT 4 Yada iJaga*+aNa( Pauåz" k-aTSNYaeRNa Pa[k*-TaeGauR<aaNa( ) NavÜar& iÜhSTaax(iga] Ta}aaMaNauTa SaaißiTa )) 4 )) yadā jighṛkṣan puruṣaḥ kārtsnyena prakṛter guṇān nava-dvāraṁ dvi-hastāṅghri tatrāmanuta sādhv iti SYNONYMS yadā—when; jighṛkṣan—desiring to enjoy; puruṣaḥ—the living entity; kārtsnyena—in total; prakṛteḥ—of material nature; guṇān—the modes; nava-dvāram—having nine gates; dvi—two; hasta—hands; aṅghri—legs; tatra—there; amanuta—he thought; sādhu—very good; iti—thus. TRANSLATION When the living entity wants to enjoy the modes of material nature in their totality, he prefers, out of many bodily forms, to accept that body which has nine gates, two hands and two legs. Thus he prefers to become a human being or a demigod. PURPORT This is a very nice explanation of how the spiritual being, the part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, God, accepts a material body by virtue of his own desires. Accepting two hands, two legs, and so on, the living entity fully enjoys the modes of material nature. Lord Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (7.27): icchā-dveṣa-samutthena dvandva-mohena bhārata sarva-bhūtāni sammohaṁ sarge yānti parantapa “O scion of Bharata [Arjuna], O conqueror of the foe, all living entities are born into delusion, overcome by the dualities of desire and hate.” Originally the living entity is a spiritual being, but when he actually desires to enjoy this material world, he comes down. From this verse we can understand that the living entity first accepts a body that is human in form, but gradually, due to his degraded activities, he falls into lower forms of life—into the animal, plant and aquatic forms. By the gradual process of evolution, the living entity again attains the body of a human being and is given another chance to get out of the process of transmigration. If he again misses his chance in the human form to understand his position, he is again placed in the cycle of birth and death in various types of bodies. The desire of the living entity to come into the material world is not very difficult to understand. Although one may be born in a family of Āryans, where there are restrictions against meat-eating, intoxication, gambling and illicit sex, still one may want to enjoy these forbidden things. There is always someone who wants to go to a prostitute for illicit sex or to a hotel to eat meat and drink wine. There is always someone who wants to gamble at nightclubs or enjoy so-called sports. All these propensities are already within the hearts of the living entities, but some living entities stop to enjoy these abominable activities and consequently fall down to a degraded platform. The more one desires a degraded life within his heart, the more he falls down to occupy different forms of abominable existence. This is the process of transmigration and evolution. A particular type of animal may have a strong tendency to enjoy one kind of sense enjoyment, but in the human form one can enjoy all the senses. The human form has the facility to utilize all the senses for gratification. Unless one is properly trained, he becomes a victim of the modes of material nature, as confirmed by Bhagavad-gītā (3.27): prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate “The bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three modes of material nature, thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by nature.” As soon as one desires to enjoy his senses, he puts himself under the control of material energy and automatically, or mechanically, is placed into the cycle of birth and death in various life-forms. |
TEXT 5 buiÖ& Tau Pa[Mada& ivÛaNMaMaahiMaiTa YaTk*-TaMa( ) YaaMaiDaïaYa dehe_iSMaNa( PauMaaNa( >au»e_+ai>aGauR<aaNa( )) 5 )) buddhiṁ tu pramadāṁ vidyān mamāham iti yat-kṛtam yām adhiṣṭhāya dehe ’smin pumān bhuṅkte ’kṣabhir guṇān SYNONYMS buddhim—intelligence; tu—then; pramadām—the young woman (Purañjanī); vidyāt—one should know; mama—my; aham—I; iti—thus; yat-kṛtam—done by intelligence; yām—which intelligence; adhiṣṭhāya—taking shelter of; dehe—in the body; asmin—this; pumān—the living entity; bhuṅkte—suffers and enjoys; akṣabhiḥ—by the senses; guṇān—the modes of material nature. TRANSLATION The great sage Nārada continued: The word pramadā mentioned in this regard refers to material intelligence, or ignorance. It is to be understood as such. When one takes shelter of this kind of intelligence, he identifies himself with the material body. Influenced by the material consciousness of “I” and “mine,” he begins to enjoy and suffer through his senses. Thus the living entity is entrapped. PURPORT In material existence so-called intelligence is actually ignorance. When intelligence is cleared up, it is called buddhi-yoga. In other words, when intelligence is dovetailed with the desires of Kṛṣṇa, it is called buddhi-yoga or bhakti-yoga. Therefore in Bhagavad-gītā (10.10) Kṛṣṇa says: teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ yena mām upayānti te “To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.” Real intelligence means linking with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When this is done, the Supreme Personality of Godhead from within gives one the real intelligence by which one can return home, back to Godhead. Intelligence in the material world is described in this verse as pramadā because in material existence the living entity falsely claims things to be his. He thinks, “I am the monarch of all I survey.” This is ignorance. Actually, nothing belongs to him. Even the body and the senses do not belong to him, for they are given to him by the grace of the Lord to satisfy his different propensities through the material energy. Nothing actually belongs to the living entity, but he becomes mad after everything, claiming, “This is mine. This is mine. This is mine.” Janasya moho ’yam ahaṁ mameti [SB 5.5.8]. This is called illusion. Nothing belongs to the living entity, but he claims that everything belongs to him. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu recommends that this false intelligence be purified (ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam [Cc. Antya 20.12]). When the mirror of intelligence is polished, the real activities of the living entity begin. This means that when a person comes to the platform of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, his real intelligence acts. At that time he knows that everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa and nothing belongs to him. As long as one thinks that everything belongs to him, he is in material consciousness, and when he knows perfectly that everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa, he is in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. |
Sa%aYa wiNd]YaGa<aa jaNa& k-MaR c YaTk*-TaMa( ) Sa:YaSTad(v*taYa" Pa[a<a" PaÄv*itaYaRQaaerGa" )) 6 )) sakhāya indriya-gaṇā jñānaṁ karma ca yat-kṛtam sakhyas tad-vṛttayaḥ prāṇaḥ pañca-vṛttir yathoragaḥ SYNONYMS sakhāyaḥ—the male friends; indriya-gaṇāḥ—the senses; jñānam—knowledge; karma—activity; ca—also; yat-kṛtam—done by the senses; sakhyaḥ—female friends; tat—of the senses; vṛttayaḥ—engagements; prāṇaḥ—life air; pañca-vṛttiḥ—having five processes; yathā—like; uragaḥ—the serpent. TRANSLATION The five working senses and the five senses that acquire knowledge are all male friends of Purañjanī. The living entity is assisted by these senses in acquiring knowledge and engaging in activity. The engagements of the senses are known as girl friends, and the serpent, which was described as having five heads, is the life air acting within the five circulatory processes. PURPORT kṛṣṇa-bahirmukha hañā bhoga-vāñchā kare nikaṭa-stha māyā tāre jāpaṭiyā dhare (Prema-vivarta) Because of his desire to enjoy the material world, the living entity is dressed with the material gross and subtle bodies. Thus he is given a chance to enjoy the senses. The senses are therefore the instruments for enjoying the material world; consequently the senses have been described as friends. Sometimes, because of too much sinful activity, the living entity does not get a material gross body, but hovers on the subtle platform. This is called ghostly life. Because of his not possessing a gross body, he creates a great deal of trouble in his subtle body. Thus the presence of a ghost is horrible for those who are living in the gross body. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (15.10): utkrāmantaṁ sthitaṁ vāpi bhuñjānaṁ vā guṇānvitam vimūḍhā nānupaśyanti paśyanti jñāna-cakṣuṣaḥ “The foolish cannot understand how a living entity can quit his body, nor can they understand what sort of body he enjoys under the spell of the modes of nature. But one whose eyes are trained in knowledge can see all this.” The living entities are merged into the air of life, which acts in different ways for circulation. There is prāṇa, apāna, udāna, vyāna and samāna, and because the life air functions in this fivefold way, it is compared to the five-hooded serpent. The soul passes through the kuṇḍalinī-cakra like a serpent crawling on the ground. The life air is compared to uraga, the serpent. Pañca-vṛtti is the desire to satisfy the senses, attracted by five sense objects—namely form, taste, sound, smell and touch. |
TEXT 11 Nail/Naq Naail/Naq NaaSae GaNDa" SaaEr>a oCYaTae ) ga]a<aae_vDaUTaae Mau:YaaSYa& ivPa<aae vaGa]Saivd]Sa" )) 11 )) nalinī nālinī nāse gandhaḥ saurabha ucyate ghrāṇo ’vadhūto mukhyāsyaṁ vipaṇo vāg rasavid rasaḥ SYNONYMS nalinī—named Nalinī; nālinī—named Nālinī; nāse—the two nostrils; gandhaḥ—aroma; saurabhaḥ—Saurabha (fragrance); ucyate—is called; ghrāṇaḥ—the sense of smell; avadhūtaḥ—called Avadhūta; mukhyā—called Mukhyā (principal); āsyam—the mouth; vipaṇaḥ—named Vipaṇa; vāk—the faculty of speech; rasa-vit—named Rasajña (expert in tasting); rasaḥ—the sense of taste. TRANSLATION The two doors named Nalinī and Nālinī should be known as the two nostrils, and the city named Saurabha represents aroma. The companion spoken of as Avadhūta is the sense of smell. The door called Mukhyā is the mouth, and Vipaṇa is the faculty of speech. Rasajña is the sense of taste. PURPORT The word avadhūta means “most free.” A person is not under the rules and regulations of any injunction when he has attained the stage of avadhūta. In other words, he can act as he likes. This avadhūta stage is exactly like air, which does not care for any obstruction. In Bhagavad-gītā (6.34) it is said: cañcalaṁ hi manaḥ kṛṣṇa pramāthi balavad dṛḍham tasyāhaṁ nigrahaṁ manye vāyor iva suduṣkaram “The mind is restless, turbulent, obstinate and very strong, O Kṛṣṇa, and to subdue it is, it seems to me, more difficult than controlling the wind.” Just as the air or wind cannot be checked by anyone, the two nostrils, situated in one place, enjoy the sense of smell without impediment. When the tongue is present, the mouth continually tastes all kinds of relishable foodstuffs. |
ANTa"Paur& c ôdYa& ivzUicMaRNa oCYaTae ) Ta}a Maaeh& Pa[Saad& va hz| Pa[aPanaeiTa Tad(Gau<aE" )) 16 )) antaḥ-puraṁ ca hṛdayaṁ viṣūcir mana ucyate tatra mohaṁ prasādaṁ vā harṣaṁ prāpnoti tad-guṇaiḥ SYNONYMS antaḥ-puram—private residence; ca—and; hṛdayam—the heart; viṣūciḥ—the servant named Viṣūcīna; manaḥ—the mind; ucyate—is said; tatra—there; moham—illusion; prasādam—satisfaction; vā—or; harṣam—jubilation; prāpnoti—obtains; tat—of the mind; guṇaiḥ—by the modes of nature. TRANSLATION The word antaḥ-pura refers to the heart. The word viṣūcīna, meaning “going everywhere,” indicates the mind. Within the mind the living entity enjoys the effects of the modes of material nature. These effects sometimes cause illusion, sometimes satisfaction and sometimes jubilation. PURPORT The mind and intelligence of the living entity in material existence are affected by the modes of material nature, and according to the association of the material modes, the mind is habituated to go here and there. The heart feels satisfaction, jubilation or illusion according to the effects of the modes of material nature. Actually the living entity in his material condition remains inert. It is the modes of material nature that act on the mind and heart. The results are enjoyed or suffered by the living entity. This is clearly stated in Bhagavad-gītā (3.27): prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate “The bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three modes of material nature, thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by nature.” |
TEXTS 18–20 dehae rQaiSTviNd]Yaaì" Sa&vTSarrYaae_GaiTa" ) iÜk-MaRc§-iñGau<aßJa" PaÄaSaubNDaur" )) 18 )) MaNaaeriXMabuRiÖSaUTaae ôàq@ae ÜNÜkU-br" ) PaÄeiNd]YaaQaRPa[+aePa" SaáDaaTauvæQak-" )) 19 )) AakU-iTaivR§-Maae baùae Ma*GaTa*Z<aa& Pa[DaaviTa ) Wk-adXaeiNd]YacMaU" PaÄSaUNaaivNaaedk*-Ta( )) 20 )) deho rathas tv indriyāśvaḥ saṁvatsara-rayo ’gatiḥ dvi-karma-cakras tri-guṇa- dhvajaḥ pañcāsu-bandhuraḥ mano-raśmir buddhi-sūto hṛn-nīḍo dvandva-kūbaraḥ pañcendriyārtha-prakṣepaḥ sapta-dhātu-varūthakaḥ ākūtir vikramo bāhyo mṛga-tṛṣṇāṁ pradhāvati ekādaśendriya-camūḥ pañca-sūnā-vinoda-kṛt SYNONYMS dehaḥ—body; rathaḥ—chariot; tu—but; indriya—the knowledge-acquiring senses; aśvaḥ—the horses; saṁvatsara—total years; rayaḥ—duration of life; agatiḥ—without advancing; dvi—two; karma—activities; cakraḥ—wheels; tri—three; guṇa—modes of nature; dhvajaḥ—flags; pañca—five; asu—life airs; bandhuraḥ—bondage; manaḥ—the mind; raśmiḥ—rope; buddhi—intelligence; sūtaḥ—chariot driver; hṛt—heart; nīḍaḥ—sitting place; dvandva—duality; kūbaraḥ—the posts for the harness; pañca—five; indriya-artha—sense objects; prakṣepaḥ—weapons; sapta—seven; dhātu—elements; varūthakaḥ—coverings; ākūtiḥ—attempts of the five working senses; vikramaḥ—prowess or processes; bāhyaḥ—external; mṛga-tṛṣṇām—false aspiration; pradhāvati—runs after; ekādaśa—eleven; indriya—senses; camūḥ—soldiers; pañca—five; sūnā—envy; vinoda—pleasure; kṛt—doing. TRANSLATION Nārada Muni continued: What I referred to as the chariot was in actuality the body. The senses are the horses that pull that chariot. As time passes, year after year, these horses run without obstruction, but in fact they make no progress. Pious and impious activities are the two wheels of the chariot. The three modes of material nature are the chariot’s flags. The five types of life air constitute the living entity’s bondage, and the mind is considered to be the rope. Intelligence is the chariot driver. The heart is the sitting place in the chariot, and the dualities of life, such as pleasure and pain, are the knotting place. The seven elements are the coverings of the chariot, and the working senses are the five external processes. The eleven senses are the soldiers. Being engrossed in sense enjoyment, the living entity, seated on the chariot, hankers after fulfillment of his false desires and runs after sense enjoyment life after life. PURPORT The entanglement of the living entity in sense enjoyment is very nicely explained in these verses. The word saṁvatsara, meaning “the progress of time,” is significant. Day after day, week after week, fortnight after fortnight, month after month, year after year, the living entity becomes entangled in the chariot’s progress. The chariot rests on two wheels, which are pious and impious activities. The living entity attains a certain position in life in a particular type of body according to his pious and impious activities, but his transmigration into different bodies should not be taken as progress. Real progress is explained in Bhagavad-gītā (4.9). Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti: one makes real progress when he does not have to take on another material body. As stated in Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 19.138): eita brahmāṇḍa bhari’ ananta jīva-gaṇa caurāśī-lakṣa yonite karaye bhramaṇa The living entity is wandering throughout the entire universe and taking birth in different species on different planets. Thus he moves up and down, but that is not real progress. Real progress is getting out of this material world altogether. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (8.16): ābrahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino ’rjuna mām upetya tu kaunteya punar janma na vidyate “From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kuntī, never takes birth again.” Even if one is promoted to Brahmaloka, the highest planet in the universe, he has to come down again to the lower planetary systems. Thus he is wandering up and down perpetually, under the influence of the three modes of material nature. Being illusioned, he thinks he is making progress. He is like an airplane encircling the earth day and night, incapable of leaving the earth’s gravitational field. Factually there is no progress because the airplane is conditioned by the earth’s gravity. Just as a king is seated on a chariot, the living entity is seated in the body. The sitting place is the heart, and the living entity sits there and engages in the struggle for existence, which goes on without progress perpetually. In the words of Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura: karma-kāṇḍa, jñāna-kāṇḍa, kevala viṣera bhāṇḍa, amṛta baliyā yebā khāya nānā yoni sadā phire, kadarya bhakṣaṇa kare, tāra janma adhaḥ-pāte yāya The living entity struggles very hard due to the influence of fruitive activity and mental speculation and simply gets a different type of body life after life. He eats all kinds of nonsense and is condemned by his activities of sense enjoyment, If one really wants to progress in life, he must give up the ways of karma-kāṇḍa and jñāna-kāṇḍa, fruitive activities and mental speculation. Being fixed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one can become free from the entanglement of birth and death and the vain struggle for existence. In these verses the words mṛga-tṛṣṇāṁ pradhāvati are very significant because the living entity is influenced by a thirst for sense enjoyment. He is like a deer that goes to the desert to search out water. In a desert an animal simply searches in vain for water. Of course there is no water in the desert, and the animal simply sacrifices his life in an attempt to find it. Everyone is planning for future happiness, thinking that somehow or other, if he can reach a certain point, he will be happy. In actuality, however, when he comes to that point, he sees that there is no happiness. He then plans to go further and further to another point. This is called mṛga-tṛṣṇā, and its basis is sense enjoyment in this material world. |
TEXT 22 k-al/k-NYaa Jara Saa+aaçaek-STaa& Naai>aNaNdiTa ) SvSaar& JaGa*he Ma*TYau" +aYaaYa YavNaeìr" )) 22 )) kāla-kanyā jarā sākṣāl lokas tāṁ nābhinandati svasāraṁ jagṛhe mṛtyuḥ kṣayāya yavaneśvaraḥ SYNONYMS kāla-kanyā—the daughter of Time; jarā—old age; sākṣāt—directly; lokaḥ—all living entities; tām—her; na—never; abhinandati—welcome; svasāram—as his sister; jagṛhe—accepted; mṛtyuḥ—death; kṣayāya—for destruction; yavana-īśvaraḥ—the King of the Yavanas. TRANSLATION What was described as Kālakanyā should be understood as old age. No one wants to accept old age, but Yavaneśvara [Yavana-rāja], who is death, accepts Jarā [old age] as his sister. PURPORT Encaged within the body, the living being accepts Kālakanyā, old age, just before death. Yavaneśvara is the emblem of death, Yamarāja. Before going to the place of Yamarāja, the living entity accepts Jarā, old age, the sister of Yamarāja. One is subjected to the influence of Yavana-rāja and his sister due to impious activity. Those who are in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and are engaged in devotional service under the instructions of Nārada Muni are not subjected to the influence of Yamarāja and his sister Jarā. If one is Kṛṣṇa conscious, he conquers death. After leaving the material body, he does not accept another body that is material but returns home, back to Godhead. This is verified by Bhagavad-gītā (4.9). |
TEXTS 23–25 AaDaYaae VYaaDaYaSTaSYa SaEiNak-a YavNaaêra" ) >aUTaaePaSaGaaRéurYa" Pa[Jvarae iÜivDaae Jvr" )) 23 )) Wv& bhuivDaEduR"%EdOEv>aUTaaTMaSaM>avE" ) i(c)-XYaMaaNa" XaTa& vz| dehe dehq TaMaaev*Ta" )) 24 )) Pa[a<aeiNd]YaMaNaaeDaMaaRNaaTMaNYaDYaSYa iNaGauR<a" ) XaeTae k-aMal/vaNDYaaYaNMaMaahiMaiTa k-MaRk*-Ta( )) 25 )) ādhayo vyādhayas tasya sainikā yavanāś carāḥ bhūtopasargāśu-rayaḥ prajvāro dvi-vidho jvaraḥ evaṁ bahu-vidhair duḥkhair daiva-bhūtātma-sambhavaiḥ kliśyamānaḥ śataṁ varṣaṁ dehe dehī tamo-vṛtaḥ prāṇendriya-mano-dharmān ātmany adhyasya nirguṇaḥ śete kāma-lavān dhyāyan mamāham iti karma-kṛt SYNONYMS ādhayaḥ—disturbances of the mind; vyādhayaḥ—disturbances of the body, or diseases; tasya—of Yavaneśvara; sainikāḥ—soldiers; yavanāḥ—Yavanas; carāḥ—followers; bhūta—of living entities; upasarga—at the time of distress; āśu—very soon; rayaḥ—very powerful; prajvāraḥ—named Prajvāra; dvi-vidhaḥ—two kinds; jvaraḥ—fever; evam—thus; bahu-vidhaiḥ—of different varieties; duḥkhaiḥ—by tribulations; daiva—by providence; bhūta—by other living entities; ātma—by the body and mind; sambhavaiḥ—produced; kliśyamānaḥ—subjected to sufferings; śatam—hundred; varṣam—years; dehe—in the body; dehī—the living entity; tamaḥ-vṛtaḥ—covered by material existence; prāṇa—of life; indriya—of the senses; manaḥ—of the mind; dharmān—characteristics; ātmani—unto the soul; adhyasya—wrongly attributing; nirguṇaḥ—although transcendental; śete—lies down; kāma—of sense enjoyment; lavān—on fragments; dhyāyan—meditating; mama—mine; aham—I; iti—thus; karma-kṛt—the actor. TRANSLATION The followers of Yavaneśvara [Yamarāja] are called the soldiers of death, and they are known as the various types of disturbances that pertain to the body and mind. Prajvāra represents the two types of fever: extreme heat and extreme cold—typhoid and pneumonia. The living entity lying down within the body is disturbed by many tribulations pertaining to providence, to other living entities and to his own body and mind. Despite all kinds of tribulations, the living entity, subjected to the necessities of the body, mind and senses and suffering from various types of disease, is carried away by many plans due to his lust to enjoy the world. Although transcendental to this material existence, the living entity, out of ignorance, accepts all these material miseries under the pretext of false egoism (“I” and “mine”). In this way he lives for a hundred years within this body. PURPORT In the Vedas it is stated: asaṅgo’yaṁ puruṣaḥ. The living entity is actually separate from material existence, for the soul is not material. In Bhagavad-gītā it is also said that the living entity is the superior energy, and the material elements—earth, water, fire, air and so on—are the inferior energy. The material elements are also described as bhinna, or separated energy. When the internal or superior energy comes in contact with the external energy, it is subjected to so many tribulations. In Bhagavad-gītā (2.14) the Lord also says, mātrā-sparśās tu kaunteya śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ: because of the material body, the living entity is subjected to many tribulations brought about by air, water, fire, extreme heat, extreme cold, sunshine, excessive eating, unhealthy food, maladjustments of the three elements of the body (kapha, pitta and vāyu), and so on. The intestines, the throat, the brain and the other parts of the body are affected by all kinds of diseases that are so powerful that they become sources of extreme suffering for the living entity. The living entity, however, is different from all these material elements. The two types of fever described in this verse can be explained in contemporary language as pneumonia and typhoid. When there is an extreme fever in the body, there is typhoid and pneumonia, and they are described as Prajvāra. There are also other miseries created by other living entities. The state exacts taxes, and there are also many thieves, rogues and cheaters. Miseries brought about by other living entities are called adhibhautika. There are also miseries in the form of famine, pestilence, scarcity, war, earthquakes and so on. These are caused by the demigods or other sources beyond our control. Actually there are many enemies of the living entities, and these are all described to point out how miserable this material existence is. Knowing the basic misery of material existence, one should be induced to get out of the material clutches and return home, back to Godhead. Actually the living entity is not at all happy in this material body. Because of the body, he suffers thirst and hunger and is influenced by the mind, by words, by anger, by the belly, by the genitals, by the rectum, and so on. Manifold miseries encircle the transcendental living entity simply because he desires to satisfy his senses in this material world. If he simply withdraws from activities of sense gratification and applies his senses in the service of the Lord, all the problems of material existence will immediately diminish, and with the advancement of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he will be freed from all tribulation and, after giving up the body, will return home, back to Godhead. |
YadaTMaaNaMaivjaYa >aGavNTa& Par& GauåMa( ) PauåzSTau ivzÂeTa Gau<aezu Pa[k*-Tae" Svd*k(- )) 26 )) Gau<aai>aMaaNaq Sa Tada k-MaaRi<a ku-åTae_vXa" ) éu(c)&- k*-Z<a& l/aeihTa& va YaQaak-MaaRi>aJaaYaTae )) 27 )) yadātmānam avijñāya bhagavantaṁ paraṁ gurum puruṣas tu viṣajjeta guṇeṣu prakṛteḥ sva-dṛk guṇābhimānī sa tadā karmāṇi kurute ’vaśaḥ śuklaṁ kṛṣṇaṁ lohitaṁ vā yathā-karmābhijāyate SYNONYMS yadā—when; ātmānam—the Supreme Soul; avijñāya—forgetting; bhagavantam—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; param—supreme; gurum—the instructor; puruṣaḥ—the living entity; tu—then; viṣajjeta—gives himself up; guṇeṣu—to the modes; prakṛteḥ—of material nature; sva-dṛk—one who can see his own welfare; guṇa-abhimānī—identified with the modes of nature; saḥ—he; tadā—at that time; karmāṇi—fruitive activities; kurute—performs; avaśaḥ—spontaneously; śuklam—white; kṛṣṇam—black; lohitam—red; vā—or; yathā—according to; karma—work; abhijāyate—takes birth. TRANSLATION The living entity by nature has minute independence to choose his own good or bad fortune, but when he forgets his supreme master, the Personality of Godhead, he gives himself up unto the modes of material nature. Being influenced by the modes of material nature, he identifies himself with the body and, for the interest of the body, becomes attached to various activities. Sometimes he is under the influence of the mode of ignorance, sometimes the mode of passion and sometimes the mode of goodness. The living entity thus gets different types of bodies under the modes of material nature. PURPORT These different types of bodies are explained in Bhagavad-gītā (13.22): puruṣaḥ prakṛti-stho hi bhuṅkte prakṛti-jān guṇān kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo ’sya sad-asad-yoni-janmasu “The living entity in material nature follows the ways of life, enjoying the three modes of nature. This is due to his association with that material nature. Thus he meets with good and evil among various species. Because of associating with the modes of nature, the living entity gets a variety of bodies from the 8,400,000 forms. It is clearly explained herein that the living entity has a little independence, indicated by the word sva-dṛk, meaning “one who can see his own welfare.” The living entity’s constitutional position is very minute, and he can be misled in his choice. He may choose to imitate the Supreme Personality of Godhead. A servant may desire to start his own business and imitate his master, and when he chooses to do so, he may leave the protection of his master. Sometimes he is a failure, and sometimes he is successful. Similarly, the living entity, part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, starts his own business to compete with the Lord. There are many competitors out to attain the Lord’s position, but to become like the Lord is not at all possible. Thus there is a great struggle for existence with the material world as different parties try to imitate the Lord. Material bondage is caused by deviation from the service of the Lord and attempts to imitate Him. The Lord is imitated by Māyāvādī philosophers who try to become one with the Lord in an artificial way. When the Māyāvādī philosophers think of themselves as liberated, they are under the delusion of mental concoction. No one can become one with or equal to God. To imagine this is to continue one’s bondage in material existence. |
TEXT 29 KvicTPauMaaNa( KvicÀ ñq Kvicàae>aYaMaNDaDaq" ) devae MaNauZYaiSTaYaRGva YaQaak-MaRGau<a& >av" )) 29 )) kvacit pumān kvacic ca strī kvacin nobhayam andha-dhīḥ devo manuṣyas tiryag vā yathā-karma-guṇaṁ bhavaḥ SYNONYMS kvacit—sometimes; pumān—male; kvacit—sometimes; ca—also; strī—female; kvacit—sometimes; na—not; ubhayam—both; andha—blind; dhīḥ—he whose intelligence; devaḥ—demigod; manuṣyaḥ—human being; tiryak—animal, bird, beast; vā—or; yathā—according to; karma—of activities; guṇam—the qualities; bhavaḥ—birth. TRANSLATION Covered by the mode of ignorance in material nature, the living entity is sometimes a male, sometimes a female, sometimes a eunuch, sometimes a human being, sometimes a demigod, sometimes a bird, an animal, and so on. In this way he is wandering within the material world. His acceptance of different types of bodies is brought about by his activities under the influence of the modes of nature. PURPORT Actually the living entity is part and parcel of the Lord; therefore he is spiritual in quality. The living entity is never material, and his material conception is simply a mistake due to forgetfulness. He is as brilliant as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Both the sun and the sunshine are very brilliant. The Lord is like the full shining sun, and the living entities are like the small particles of that sun which constitute the all-pervasive sunshine. When these small particles are covered by the cloud of māyā, they lose their shining capacity. When the cloud of māyā is gone, the particles again become brilliant and shining. As soon as the living entity is covered by the ignorance of māyā, or darkness, he cannot understand his relationship with the Supreme God. Somehow or other, if he comes before the Lord, he can see himself as shining as the Supreme Lord, although he is not as extensive as the Lord. Because the living entity desires to imitate the Supreme Lord, he is covered by māyā. We cannot imitate the Lord, nor can we become the supreme enjoyer. This is not possible, and when we think it is, we become conditioned by māyā. Thus the encagement of the living entity under the clutches of māyā is brought about by forgetfulness of his relationship with the Supreme Lord. Under the influence of māyā, the living entity becomes exactly like a person haunted by a ghost. Such a person speaks all kinds of nonsense. When the living entity is covered by the influence of māyā, he becomes a so-called scientist, philosopher, politician or socialist, and at every moment presents different plans for the benefit of human society. All these plans are ultimately failures because they are illusory. In this way the living entity forgets his position as an eternal servant of the Lord. He instead becomes a servant of māyā. In any case he remains a servant. It is his misfortune that by forgetting his real contact with the Supreme Lord, he becomes a servant of māyā. As servant of māyā, he sometimes becomes a king, sometimes an ordinary citizen, sometimes a brāhmaṇa, a śūdra, and so on. Sometimes he is a happy man, sometimes a prosperous man, sometimes a small insect. Sometimes he is in heaven and sometimes in hell. Sometimes he is a demigod, and sometimes he is a demon. Sometimes he is a servant, and sometimes he is a master. In this way the living entity wanders all over the universe. Only when he comes in contact with the bona fide spiritual master can he understand his real constitutional position. He then becomes disgusted with material existence. At that time, in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he regrets his past experiences in material existence. This regret is very beneficial because it purifies the living entity of material, conditional life. He then prays to the Lord to engage in His service, and at that time, Kṛṣṇa grants liberation from the clutches of māyā. Lord Kṛṣṇa explains this in Bhagavad-gītā (7.14): daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te “This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.” Only by the grace of Kṛṣṇa can one get out of the clutches of māyā. It is not possible to get out by mental speculation or other activities. When the living entity understands his real position by the grace of Kṛṣṇa, he keeps himself always fit in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and acts accordingly. Thus he gradually becomes completely free from the clutches of māyā. When he is strong in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, māyā cannot touch him. In this way, in the association of Kṛṣṇa conscious devotees, the living entity can get free from the contamination of material existence. In this connection, Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī says: tāte kṛṣṇa bhaje, kare gurura sevana māyā-jāla chuṭe, pāya kṛṣṇera caraṇa “In the Kṛṣṇa conscious state, the living entity engages in devotional service under the direction of the spiritual master. In this way he gets out of the clutches of māyā and takes shelter under the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa.” (Cc. Madhya 22.25) |
+auTParqTaae YaQaa dqNa" SaarMaeYaae Ga*h& Ga*hMa( ) crNa( ivNdiTa YaiÕí& d<@MaaedNaMaev va )) 30 )) TaQaa k-aMaaXaYaae Jaqv oÀavcPaQaa >a]MaNa( ) oPaYaRDaae va MaDYae va YaaiTa idí& iPa[YaaiPa[YaMa( )) 31 )) kṣut-parīto yathā dīnaḥ sārameyo gṛhaṁ gṛham caran vindati yad-diṣṭaṁ daṇḍam odanam eva vā tathā kāmāśayo jīva uccāvaca-pathā bhraman upary adho vā madhye vā yāti diṣṭaṁ priyāpriyam SYNONYMS kṣut-parītaḥ—overcome by hunger; yathā—as; dīnaḥ—poor; sārameyaḥ—a dog; gṛham—from one house; gṛham—to another house; caran—wandering; vindati—receives; yat—whose; diṣṭam—according to destiny; daṇḍam—punishment; odanam—food; eva—certainly; vā—or; tathā—similarly; kāma-āśayaḥ—pursuing different types of desires; jīvaḥ—the living entity; ucca—high; avaca—low; pathā—on a path; bhraman—wandering; upari—high; adhaḥ—low; vā—or; madhye—in the middle; vā—or; yāti—goes toward; diṣṭam—according to destiny; priya—pleasing; apriyam—not pleasing. TRANSLATION The living entity is exactly like a dog, who, overcome with hunger, goes from door to door for some food. According to his destiny, he sometimes receives punishment and is driven out and at other times receives a little food to eat. Similarly, the living entity, being influenced by so many desires, wanders in different species of life according to destiny. Sometimes he is high, and sometimes he is low. Sometimes he goes to the heavenly planets, sometimes to hell, sometimes to the middle planets, and so on. PURPORT The living entity’s position is herein likened to a dog’s. By chance a dog may have a very rich owner, and by chance he may become a street dog. As the dog of a rich man, he will live very opulently. Sometimes in Western countries we hear of a master leaving millions of dollars to a dog in his will. Of course, there are many dogs loitering in the street without food. Therefore, to liken the conditional existence of the living entity to that of a dog is very appropriate. An intelligent human being, however, can understand that if he has to live the life of a dog, he had best become Kṛṣṇa’s dog. In the material world a dog is sometimes elevated and is sometimes on the street, but in the spiritual world, Kṛṣṇa’s dog is perpetually, eternally happy. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has therefore sung: vaiṣṇava ṭhākura tomāra kukura baliyā jānaha more. In this way Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura offers to become a Vaiṣṇava’s dog. A dog always keeps himself at his master’s door and does not allow any person unfavorable to the master to enter. Similarly, one should engage in the service of a Vaiṣṇava and try to please him in every respect. Unless one does so, he does not make spiritual advancement. Apart from spiritual advancement, in the material world if one does not develop his qualities in goodness, he cannot be promoted to the higher planetary system. As confirmed by Bhagavad-gītā (14.18): ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthā madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ “Those situated in the mode of goodness gradually go upward to the higher planets; those in the mode of passion live on the earthly planets; and those in the mode of ignorance go down to the hellish worlds.” There are many varieties of life in the different planetary systems, and these come about due to the living entity’s developing his qualities in goodness, passion and ignorance. If one is in goodness, he is promoted to the higher systems; if in passion, he remains in the middle systems; and if in ignorance, he is pushed down to the lower species of life. |
TEXT 32 du"%eZvek-Tare<aaiPa dEv>aUTaaTMaheTauzu ) JaqvSYa Na VYavC^ed" SYaaÀetataTPa[iTai§-Yaa )) 32 )) duḥkheṣv ekatareṇāpi daiva-bhūtātma-hetuṣu jīvasya na vyavacchedaḥ syāc cet tat-tat-pratikriyā SYNONYMS duḥkheṣu—in the matter of distresses; ekatareṇa—from one kind; api—even; daiva—providence; bhūta—other living entities; ātma—the body and mind; hetuṣu—on account of; jīvasya—of the living entity; na—never; vyavacchedaḥ—stopping; syāt—is possible; cet—although; tat-tat—of those miseries; pratikriyā—counteraction. TRANSLATION The living entities are trying to counteract different miserable conditions pertaining to providence, other living entities or the body and mind. Still, they must remain conditioned by the laws of nature, despite all attempts to counter these laws. PURPORT Just as a dog wanders here and there for a piece of bread or punishment, the living entity perpetually wanders about trying to be happy and planning in so many ways to counteract material misery. This is called the struggle for existence. We can actually see in our daily lives how we are forced to make plans to drive away miserable conditions. To get rid of one miserable condition, we have to put ourselves in another kind of miserable condition. A poor man suffers for want of money, but if he wants to become rich, he has to struggle in so many ways. Actually that is not a valid counteracting process but a snare of the illusory energy. If one does not endeavor to counteract his situation but is satisfied with his position, knowing that he has obtained his position through past activities, he can instead engage his energy to develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is recommended in all Vedic literature. tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovido na labhyate yad bhramatām upary adhaḥ tal labhyate duḥkhavad anyataḥ sukhaṁ kālena sarvatra gabhīra-raṁhasā “Persons who are actually intelligent and philosophically inclined should endeavor only for that purposeful end which is not obtainable even by wandering from the topmost planet [Brahmaloka] down to the lowest planet [Pātāla]. As far as happiness derived from sense enjoyment is concerned, it can be obtained automatically in course of time, just as in course of time we obtain miseries even though we do not desire them.” (Bhāg. 1.5.18) One should simply try to develop his Kṛṣṇa consciousness and not waste his time trying to improve his material condition. Actually the material condition cannot be improved. The process of improvement means accepting another miserable condition. However, if we endeavor to improve our Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the distresses of material life will disappear without extraneous endeavor. Kṛṣṇa therefore promises, kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati: “O son of Kuntī, declare it boldly that My devotee never perishes.” (Bg. 9.31) One who takes to the path of devotional service will never be vanquished, despite all miseries of the body and mind and despite all misery brought about by other living entities and providence, miseries which are beyond our control. |
TEXT 35 AQaeR ùivÛMaaNae_iPa Sa&Sa*iTaNaR iNavTaRTae ) MaNaSaa il/(r)æPae<a SvPane ivcrTaae YaQaa )) 35 )) arthe hy avidyamāne ’pi saṁsṛtir na nivartate manasā liṅga-rūpeṇa svapne vicarato yathā SYNONYMS arthe—factual cause; hi—certainly; avidyamāne—not existing; api—although; saṁsṛtiḥ—material existence; na—not; nivartate—ceases; manasā—by the mind; liṅga-rūpeṇa—by subtle form; svapne—in a dream; vicarataḥ—acting; yathā—as. TRANSLATION Sometimes we suffer because we see a tiger in a dream or a snake in a vision, but actually there is neither a tiger nor a snake. Thus we create some situation in a subtle form and suffer the consequences. These sufferings cannot be mitigated unless we are awakened from our dream. PURPORT As stated in the Vedas, the living entity is always separate from two kinds of material bodies—the subtle and the gross. All our sufferings are due to these material bodies. This is explained in Bhagavad-gītā (2.14): mātrā-sparśās tu kaunteya śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ āgamāpāyino ’nityās tāṁs titikṣasva bhārata “O son of Kuntī, the nonpermanent appearance of happiness and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons. They arise from sense perception, O scion of Bharata, and one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed.” Lord Kṛṣṇa thus informed Arjuna that all the distresses brought about by the body come and go. One has to learn how to tolerate them. Material existence is the cause of all our sufferings, for we do not suffer once we are out of the material condition. The Vedas therefore enjoin that one should factually understand that he is not material but is actually Brahman (). This understanding cannot be fully realized unless one is engaged in Brahman activities, namely devotional service. To get free from the material conditions, one has to take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the only remedy. |
TEXTS 36–37 AQaaTMaNaae_QaR>aUTaSYa YaTaae_NaQaRParMPara ) Sa&Sa*iTaSTaÜyvC^edae >a¢-ya ParMaYaa GauraE )) 36 )) vaSaudeve >aGaviTa >ai¢-YaaeGa" SaMaaihTa" ) SaDa]qcqNaeNa vEraGYa& jaNa& c JaNaiYaZYaiTa )) 37 )) athātmano ’rtha-bhūtasya yato ’nartha-paramparā saṁsṛtis tad-vyavacchedo bhaktyā paramayā gurau vāsudeve bhagavati bhakti-yogaḥ samāhitaḥ sadhrīcīnena vairāgyaṁ jñānaṁ ca janayiṣyati SYNONYMS atha—therefore; ātmanaḥ—of the living entity; artha-bhūtasya—having his real interest; yataḥ—from which; anartha—of all unwanted things; param-parā—a series one after another; saṁsṛtiḥ—material existence; tat—of that; vyavacchedaḥ—stopping; bhaktyā—by devotional service; paramayā—unalloyed; gurau—unto the Supreme Lord or His representative; vāsudeve—Vāsudeva; bhagavati—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; bhakti-yogaḥ—devotional service; samāhitaḥ—applied; sadhrīcīnena—completely; vairāgyam—detachment; jñānam—full knowledge; ca—and; janayiṣyati—will cause to become manifest. TRANSLATION The real interest of the living entity is to get out of the nescience that causes him to endure repeated birth and death. The only remedy is to surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead through His representative. Unless one renders devotional service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva, one cannot possibly become completely detached from this material world, nor can he possibly manifest real knowledge. PURPORT This is the way to become detached from the artificial material condition. The only remedy is to take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and constantly engage in the devotional service of Lord Vāsudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Everyone is trying to be happy, and the process adopted to achieve that happiness is called self-interest. Unfortunately, the conditioned soul hovering within this material world does not know that his ultimate goal of self-interest is Vāsudeva. Saṁsṛti, or material existence, begins with the illusioned bodily conception of life, and on the basis of this conception there ensues a series of unwanted things (anarthas). These unwanted things are actually mental desires for various types of sense gratification. In this way one accepts different types of bodies within this material world. One first has to control the mind so that the desires of the mind can be purified. This process is described in the Nārada-pañcarātra as sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tatparatvena nirmalam [Cc. Madhya 19.170]. Unless one purifies his mind, there is no question of getting free from the material condition. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.7.6): anarthopaśamaṁ sākṣād bhakti-yogam adhokṣaje lokasyājānato vidvāṁś cakre sātvata-saṁhitām “The material miseries of the living entity, which are superfluous to him, can be directly mitigated by the linking process of devotional service. But the mass of people do not know this, and therefore the learned Vyāsadeva compiled this Vedic literature, which is in relation to the Supreme Truth.” Anarthas, unwanted things, come down from one bodily life to another. To get out of this entanglement, one has to take to the devotional service of Lord Vāsudeva, Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The word guru is significant in this connection. The word guru may be translated as “heavy,” or “the supreme.” In other words, the guru is the spiritual master. Śrīla Ṛṣabhadeva advised His sons, gurur na sa syāt. .. na mocayed yaḥ samupeta-mṛtyum: “One should not take up the post of spiritual master unless he is able to lead his disciple from the cycle of birth and death.” (Bhāg. 5.5.18) Material existence is actually a chain of action and reaction brought about by different types of fruitive activities. This is the cause of birth and death. One can stop this process only by engaging oneself in the service of Vāsudeva. Bhakti refers to those activities performed in the service of Lord Vāsudeva. Because Lord Vāsudeva is the Supreme, one should engage oneself in His service, not in the service of the demigods. Devotional service begins from the neophyte stage—the stage of observing the rules and regulations—and extends to the point of spontaneous loving service to the Lord. The purpose of all stages is to satisfy Lord Vāsudeva. When one is perfectly advanced in the devotional service of Vāsudeva, one becomes completely detached from the service of the body, that is, his designated position in material existence. After becoming so detached, one becomes actually perfect in knowledge and engages perfectly in the service of Lord Vāsudeva. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya—kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’: [Cc. Madhya 20.108] “Every living entity is by constitutional position an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa.” As soon as one engages in the service of Lord Vāsudeva, he attains his normal constitutional position. This position is called the liberated stage. Muktir hitvānyathā-rūpaṁ svarūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ: in the liberated stage, one is situated in his original Kṛṣṇa conscious position. He gives up all engagements in the service of matter, engagements concocted under the names of social service, national service, community service, dog service, automobile service and so many other services conducted under the illusion of “I” and mine. As explained in the Second Chapter of the First Canto: vāsudeve bhagavati bhakti-yogaḥ prayojitaḥ janayaty āśu vairāgyaṁ jñānaṁ ca yad ahaitukam “By rendering devotional service unto the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, one immediately acquires causeless knowledge and detachment from the world.” (Bhāg. 1.2.7) Thus one must engage in the service of Vāsudeva without material desire, mental speculation or fruitive activity. |
Saae_icradev raJazeR SYaadCYauTak-Qaaé[Ya" ) é*<vTa" é[ÕDaaNaSYa iNaTYada SYaadDaqYaTa" )) 38 )) so ’cirād eva rājarṣe syād acyuta-kathāśrayaḥ śṛṇvataḥ śraddadhānasya nityadā syād adhīyataḥ SYNONYMS saḥ—that; acirāt—very soon; eva—certainly; rāja-ṛṣe—O best of kings; syāt—becomes; acyuta—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; kathā—narrations; āśrayaḥ—depending on; śṛṇvataḥ—of one who is hearing; śraddadhānasya—faithful; nityadā—always; syāt—becomes; adhīyataḥ—by cultivation. TRANSLATION O best of kings, one who is faithful, who is always hearing the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is always engaged in the culture of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and in hearing of the Lord’s activities, very soon becomes eligible to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face. PURPORT Constant engagement in the transcendental loving service of Vāsudeva means constantly hearing the glories of the Lord. The principles of bhakti-yoga—śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam/ arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ sakhyam ātma-nivedanam [SB 7.5.23]—are the only means by which perfection can be attained. Simply by hearing of the glories of the Lord, one is elevated to the transcendental position. |
TEXTS 39–40 Ya}a >aaGavTaa raJaNa( SaaDavae ivXadaXaYaa" ) >aGavd(Gau<aaNauk-QaNaé[v<aVYaGa]ceTaSa" )) 39 )) TaiSMaNMahNMau%irTaa MaDaui>aÀir}a‚ PaqYaUzXaezSairTa" PairTa" óviNTa ) Taa Yae iPabNTYaivTa*zae Na*Pa Gaa!k-<aOE‚ STaaà SPa*XaNTYaXaNaTa*@(>aYaXaaek-Maaeha" )) 40 )) yatra bhāgavatā rājan sādhavo viśadāśayāḥ bhagavad-guṇānukathana- śravaṇa-vyagra-cetasaḥ tasmin mahan-mukharitā madhubhic-caritra- pīyūṣa-śeṣa-saritaḥ paritaḥ sravanti tā ye pibanty avitṛṣo nṛpa gāḍha-karṇais tān na spṛśanty aśana-tṛḍ-bhaya-śoka-mohāḥ SYNONYMS yatra—where; bhāgavatāḥ—great devotees; rājan—O King; sādhavaḥ—saintly persons; viśada-āśayāḥ—broad-minded; bhagavat—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; guṇa—the qualities; anukathana—to regularly recite; śravaṇa—to hear; vyagra—eager; cetasaḥ—whose consciousness; tasmin—there; mahat—of great saintly persons; mukharitāḥ—emanating from the mouths; madhu-bhit—of the killer of the Madhu demon; caritra—the activities or the character; pīyūṣa—of nectar; śeṣa—surplus; saritaḥ—rivers; paritaḥ—all around; sravanti—flow; tāḥ—all of them; ye—they who; pibanti—drink; avitṛṣaḥ—without being satisfied; nṛpa—O King; gāḍha—attentive; karṇaiḥ—with their ears; tān—them; na—never; spṛśanti—touch; aśana—hunger; tṛṭ—thirst; bhaya—fear; śoka—lamentation; mohāḥ—illusion. TRANSLATION My dear King, in the place where pure devotees live, following the rules and regulations and thus purely conscious and engaged with great eagerness in hearing and chanting the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in that place if one gets a chance to hear their constant flow of nectar, which is exactly like the waves of a river, one will forget the necessities of life—namely hunger and thirst—and become immune to all kinds of fear, lamentation and illusion. PURPORT The cultivation of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is possible where great devotees live together and constantly engage in hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord. In a holy place like Vṛndāvana, there are many devotees constantly engaged in chanting and hearing the glories of the Lord. If one gets the chance to hear from pure devotees in such a place, allowing the constant flow of the river of nectar to come from the mouths of pure devotees, then the cultivation of Kṛṣṇa consciousness becomes very easy. When one is engaged in constantly hearing the glories of the Lord, he certainly rises above the bodily conception. When one is in the bodily conception, he feels the pangs of hunger and thirst, fear, lamentation and illusion. But when one is engaged in hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord, he transcends the bodily conception. The word bhagavad-guṇānukathana-śravaṇa-vyagra-cetasaḥ, meaning “always eager to find the place where the glories of the Lord are being heard and chanted,” is significant in this verse. A businessman is always very eager to go to a place where business is transacted. Similarly, a devotee is very eager to hear from the lips of liberated devotees. As soon as one hears the glories of the Lord from the liberated devotees, he immediately becomes impregnated with Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is also confirmed in another verse: satāṁ prasaṅgān mama vīrya-saṁvido bhavanti hṛt-karṇa-rasāyanāḥ kathāḥ taj-joṣaṇād āśv apavarga-vartmani śraddhā ratir bhaktir anukramiṣyati “In the association of pure devotees, discussion of the pastimes and activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is very pleasing and satisfying to the ear and to the heart. By cultivating such knowledge one gradually becomes advanced on the path of liberation, and thereafter he is freed, and his attraction becomes fixed. Then real devotion and devotional service begin.” (Bhāg. 3.25.25) In the association of pure devotees, one becomes attached to hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord. In this way one can cultivate Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and as soon as this cultivation is advanced, one can become faithful to the Lord, devoted to the Lord and attached to the Lord, and thus one can very quickly attain full Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The secret of success in the cultivation of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is hearing from the right person. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person is never disturbed by the bodily necessities—namely eating, sleeping, mating and defending. |
TEXTS 42–44 Pa[JaaPaiTaPaiTa" Saa+aaÙGavaNa( iGairXaae MaNau" ) d+aadYa" Pa[JaaDYa+aa NaEiïk-a" SaNak-adYa" )) 42 )) Marqicr}Yai(r)rSaaE Paul/STYa" Paul/h" §-Tau" ) >a*GauvRiSaï wTYaeTae MadNTaa b]øvaidNa" )) 43 )) AÛaiPa vacSPaTaYaSTaPaaeivÛaSaMaaiDai>a" ) PaXYaNTaae_iPa Na PaXYaiNTa PaXYaNTa& ParMaeìrMa( )) 44 )) prajāpati-patiḥ sākṣād bhagavān giriśo manuḥ dakṣādayaḥ prajādhyakṣā naiṣṭhikāḥ sanakādayaḥ marīcir atry-aṅgirasau pulastyaḥ pulahaḥ kratuḥ bhṛgur vasiṣṭha ity ete mad-antā brahma-vādinaḥ adyāpi vācas-patayas tapo-vidyā-samādhibhiḥ paśyanto ’pi na paśyanti paśyantaṁ parameśvaram SYNONYMS prajāpati-patiḥ—Brahmā, the father of all progenitors; sākṣāt—directly; bhagavān—the most powerful; giriśaḥ—Lord Śiva; manuḥ—Manu; dakṣa-ādayaḥ—headed by King Dakṣa; prajā-adhyakṣāḥ—the rulers of humankind; naiṣṭhikāḥ—the strong brahmacārīs; sanaka-ādayaḥ—headed by Sanaka; marīciḥ—Marīci; atri-aṅgirasau—Atri and Aṅgirā; pulastyaḥ—Pulastya; pulahaḥ—Pulaha; kratuḥ—Kratu; bhṛguḥ—Bhṛgu; vasiṣṭhaḥ—Vasiṣṭha; iti—thus; ete—all of them; mat-antāḥ—ending with me; brahma-vādinaḥ—brāhmaṇas, speakers on Vedic literature; adya api—up to date; vācaḥ-patayaḥ—masters of speaking; tapaḥ—austerities; vidyā—knowledge; samādhibhiḥ—and by meditation; paśyantaḥ—observing; api—although; na paśyanti—do not observe; paśyantam—the one who sees; parama-īśvaram—the Supreme Personality of Godhead. TRANSLATION The most powerful Lord Brahmā, the father of all progenitors; Lord Śiva; Manu, Dakṣa and the other rulers of humankind; the four saintly first-class brahmacārīs headed by Sanaka and Sanātana; the great sages Marīci, Atri, Aṅgirā, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Bhṛgu and Vasiṣṭha; and my humble self [Nārada] are all stalwart brāhmaṇas who can speak authoritatively on Vedic literature. We are very powerful because of austerities, meditation and education. Nonetheless, even after inquiring about the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whom we always see, we do not know perfectly about Him. PURPORT According to the foolish Darwinian theory of the anthropologists, it is said that forty thousand years ago Homo sapiens had not appeared on this planet because the process of evolution had not reached that point. However, the Vedic histories—the purāṇas and Mahābhārata—relate human histories that extend millions and millions of years into the past. In the beginning of creation there was a very intelligent personality, Lord Brahmā, and from him emanated all the Manus, and the brahmacārīs like Sanaka and Sanātana, as well as Lord Śiva, the great sages and Nārada. All these personalities underwent great austerities and penances and thus became authorities in Vedic knowledge. Perfect knowledge for human beings, as well as all living entities, is contained in the Vedas. All the above-mentioned great personalities are not only powerful—being cognizant of past, present and future—but are also devotees. Still, in spite of their great education in knowledge, and despite their meeting the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Viṣṇu, they cannot actually understand the perfection of the living entity’s relationship with Lord Viṣṇu. This means that these personalities are still limited as far as their knowledge of the unlimited is concerned. The conclusion is that simply by advancing one’s knowledge, one cannot be accepted as an expert in understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Supreme Personality of Godhead can be understood not by advanced knowledge, but by pure devotional service, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (18.55). Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ: unless one takes to pure, transcendental devotional service, he cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead in truth. Everyone has some imperfect ideas about the Lord. So-called scientists and philosophical speculators are unable to understand the Supreme Lord by virtue of their knowledge. Knowledge is not perfect unless one comes to the platform of devotional service. This is confirmed by the Vedic version: athāpi te deva padāmbuja-dvaya- prasāda-leśānugṛhīta eva hi jānāti tattvaṁ bhagavan-mahimno na cānya eko ’pi ciraṁ vicinvan (Bhāg. 10.14.29) The speculators, the jñānīs, go on speculating about the Supreme Personality of Godhead for many, many hundreds of thousands of years, but unless one is favored by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one cannot understand His supreme glories. All the great sages mentioned in this verse have their planets near Brahmaloka, the planet where Lord Brahmā resides along with four great sages—Sanaka, Sanātana, Sanandana and Sanat-kumāra. These sages reside in different stars known as the southern stars, which circle the polestar. The polestar, called Dhruvaloka, is the pivot of this universe, and all planets move around this polestar. All the stars are planets, as far as we can see, within this one universe. According to Western theory, all the stars are different suns, but according to Vedic information, there is only one sun within this universe. All the so-called stars are but different planets. Besides this universe, there are many millions of other universes, and each of them contains similar innumerable stars and planets. |
XaBdb]øi<a duZPaare crNTa oåivSTare ) MaN}ail/(r)EVYaRviC^à& >aJaNTaae Na ivdu" ParMa( )) 45 )) śabda-brahmaṇi duṣpāre caranta uru-vistare mantra-liṅgair vyavacchinnaṁ bhajanto na viduḥ param SYNONYMS śabda-brahmaṇi—in the Vedic literature; duṣpāre—unlimited; carantaḥ—being engaged; uru—greatly; vistare—expansive; mantra—of Vedic hymns; liṅgaiḥ—by the symptoms; vyavacchinnam—partially powerful (the demigods); bhajantaḥ—worshiping; na viduḥ—they do not know; param—the Supreme. TRANSLATION Despite the cultivation of Vedic knowledge, which is unlimited, and the worship of different demigods by the symptoms of Vedic mantras, demigod worship does not help one to understand the supreme powerful Personality of Godhead. PURPORT As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (7.20): kāmais tais tair hṛta-jñānāḥ prapadyante ’nya-devatāḥ taṁ taṁ niyamam āsthāya prakṛtyā niyatāḥ svayā “Those whose minds are distorted by material desires surrender unto demigods and follow the particular rules and regulations of worship according to their own natures.” Most people are interested in worshiping demigods to acquire powers. Each demigod has a particular power. For instance, the demigod Indra, the King of heaven, has power to shower rain on the surface of the globe to give sufficient vegetation to the earth. This demigod is described in the Vedas: vajra-hastaḥ purandaraḥ. Indra rules the water supply with a thunderbolt in his hand. The thunderbolt itself is controlled by Indra. Similarly, other demigods—Agni, Varuṇa, Candra, Sūrya—have particular powers. All these demigods are worshiped in the Vedic hymns through a symbolic weapon. Therefore it is said here: mantra-liṅgair vyavacchinnam. By such worship, karmīs may obtain the benediction of material opulence in the form of animals, riches, beautiful wives, many followers, and so on. By such material opulence, however, one cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. |
TEXT 46 Yada YaSYaaNauGa*õaiTa >aGavaNaaTMa>aaivTa" ) Sa JahaiTa MaiTa& l/aeke- vede c PairiNaiïTaaMa( )) 46 )) yadā yasyānugṛhṇāti bhagavān ātma-bhāvitaḥ sa jahāti matiṁ loke vede ca pariniṣṭhitām SYNONYMS yadā—when; yasya—whom; anugṛhṇāti—favors by causeless mercy; bhagavān—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; ātma-bhāvitaḥ—realized by a devotee; saḥ—such a devotee; jahāti—gives up; matim—consciousness; loke—in the material world; vede—in the Vedic functions; ca—also; pariniṣṭhitām—fixed. TRANSLATION When a person is fully engaged in devotional service, he is favored by the Lord, who bestows His causeless mercy. At such a time, the awakened devotee gives up all material activities and ritualistic performances mentioned in the Vedas. PURPORT In the previous verse, those who are in knowledge have been described as unable to appreciate the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Similarly, this verse indicates that those who are followers of the Vedic rituals, as well as those who are followers of fruitive activities, are unable to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In these two verses both the karmīs and jñānīs are described as unfit to understand Him. As described by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, only when one is completely free from mental speculation and fruitive activity (anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam [Madhya 19.167]) can one engage in pure devotional service without being polluted by material desires. The significant word ātma-bhāvitaḥ indicates that the Lord is awakened in one’s mind if one constantly thinks of Him. A pure devotee is always thinking of the lotus feet of the Lord (sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ). A pure devotee cannot remain a moment without being absorbed in thoughts of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This constant thinking of the Lord is described in Bhagavad-gītā as satata-yuktānām, always engaging in the Lord’s service. Bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam: this is devotional service in love and affection. Because the Supreme Personality of Godhead dictates to the pure devotee from within, the devotee is saved from all material activities. Even the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies are considered material activities because by such activities one is simply elevated to other planetary systems, the residential abodes of the demigods. Lord Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (9.25): yānti deva-vratā devān pitṝn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ bhūtāni yānti bhūtejyā yānti mad-yājino ’pi mām “Those who worship the demigods will take birth among the demigods; those who worship ghosts and spirits will take birth among such beings; those who worship ancestors go to the ancestors; and those who worship Me will live with Me.” The word ātma-bhāvitaḥ also indicates that a devotee is always engaged in preaching to deliver conditioned souls. It is said of the six Gosvāmīs: nānā-śāstra-vicāraṇaika-nipuṇau sad-dharma-saṁsthāpakau lokānāṁ hita-kāriṇau. A pure devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is always thinking of how fallen, conditioned souls can be delivered. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, influenced by the merciful devotees’ attempt to deliver fallen souls, enlightens the people in general from within by His causeless mercy. If a devotee is blessed by another devotee, he becomes free from karma-kāṇḍa and jñāna-kāṇḍa activities. As confirmed in Brahma-saṁhitā, vedeṣu durlabham: the Supreme Personality of Godhead cannot be realized through karma-kāṇḍa and jñāna-kāṇḍa. Adurlabham ātma-bhaktau: the Lord is realized only by a sincere devotee. This material world, the cosmic manifestation, is created by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the living entities have come here to enjoy themselves. The Vedic instructions guide them according to different regulative principles, and intelligent people take advantage of these instructions. They thus enjoy material life without being disturbed. This is actually illusion, and to get out of this illusion by one’s own endeavor is very difficult. The general populace is engaged in material activities, and when people are a little advanced, they become attracted by the ritualistic ceremonies mentioned in the Vedas. However, when one is frustrated in the performance of these ritualistic ceremonies, he again comes to material activities. In this way both the followers of the Vedic rituals and the followers of material activities are entangled in conditional life. These people get the seed of devotional service only by the good will of the guru and Kṛṣṇa. This is confirmed in Caitanya-caritāmṛta: guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja. When one is engaged in devotional service, he is no longer attracted to material activities. When a man is covered by different designations, he cannot engage in devotional service. One has to become freed from such designative activities (sarvopādhi-vinirmuktam [Cc. Madhya 19.170]) and become pure in order to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead through purified senses. Hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate: the service of the Lord through purified senses is called bhakti-yoga, or devotional service. The sincere devotee is always helped by the Supersoul, who resides within the heart of every living entity, as Lord Kṛṣṇa confirms in Bhagavad-gītā (10.10): teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ yena mām upayānti te “To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.” This is the stage of becoming free from the contamination of the material world. At such a time a devotee makes friends with another devotee, and his engagement in material activities ceases completely. At that time, he attains the favor of the Lord and loses his faith in material civilization, which begins with varṇāśrama-dharma. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu speaks clearly of one’s becoming liberated from the varṇāśrama-dharma, the most exalted system of human civilization. At such a time one feels himself to be perpetually the servant of Lord Kṛṣṇa, a position taken by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself. nāhaṁ vipro na ca nara-patir nāpi vaiśyo na śūdro nāhaṁ varṇī na ca gṛha-patir no vana-stho yatir vā kintu prodyan nikhila-paramānanda-pūrṇāmṛtābdher gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ (Padyāvalī 63) “I am not a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya or śūdra. I am not a brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha or sannyāsī. What am I? I am the eternal servant of the servant of the servant of Lord Kṛṣṇa.” Through the disciplic succession, one can attain this conclusion, which is perfect elevation to the transcendental platform. |
TaSMaaTk-MaRSau bihRZMaàjaNaadQaRk-aiXazu ) MaaQaRd*ií& k*-Qaa" é[ae}aSPaiXaRZvSPa*ívSTauzu )) 47 )) tasmāt karmasu barhiṣmann ajñānād artha-kāśiṣu mārtha-dṛṣṭiṁ kṛthāḥ śrotra- sparśiṣv aspṛṣṭa-vastuṣu SYNONYMS tasmāt—therefore; karmasu—in fruitive activities; barhiṣman—O King Prācīnabarhiṣat; ajñānāt—out of ignorance; artha-kāśiṣu—in the glittering fruitive result; mā—never; artha-dṛṣṭim—considering to be the aim of life; kṛthāḥ—do; śrotra-sparśiṣu—pleasing to the ear; aspṛṣṭa—without touching; vastuṣu—real interest. TRANSLATION My dear King Barhiṣmān, you should never out of ignorance take to the Vedic rituals or to fruitive activity, which may be pleasing to hear about or which may appear to be the goal of self-interest. You should never take these to be the ultimate goal of life. PURPORT In Bhagavad-gītā (2.42–43) it is said: yām imāṁ puṣpitāṁ vācaṁ pravadanty avipaścitaḥ veda-vāda-ratāḥ pārtha nānyad astīti vādinaḥ kāmātmānaḥ svarga-parā janma-karma-phala-pradām kriyā-viśeṣa-bahulāṁ bhogaiśvarya-gatiṁ prati “Men of small knowledge are very much attached to the flowery words of the Vedas, which recommend various fruitive activities for elevation to heavenly planets, resultant good birth, power, and so forth. Being desirous of sense gratification and opulent life, they say that there is nothing more than this.” Generally people are very much attracted to the fruitive activities sanctioned in the Vedic rituals. One may be very much attracted to becoming elevated to heavenly planets by performing great sacrifices, like those of King Barhiṣmān. Śrī Nārada Muni wanted to stop King Barhiṣmān from engaging in such fruitive activities. Therefore he is now directly telling him, “Don’t be interested in such temporary benefits.” In modern civilization people are very much interested in exploiting the resources of material nature through the methods of science. Indeed, this is considered advancement. This is not actually advancement, however, but is simply pleasing to hear. Although we are advancing according to such concocted methods, we are forgetting our real purpose. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura therefore says, jaḍa-vidyā yata māyāra vaibhava tomāra bhajane bādhā: “Materialistic studies are the glare of māyā only, for they are an obstacle to spiritual progress.” The temporary comforts of life experienced either on this planet or on other planets are all to be taken as illusory because they do not touch the real purpose of life. The real purpose of life is to go back home, back to Godhead. Ignorant of the real purpose of life, people take to either gross materialistic activities or ritualistic activities. King Barhiṣmān is herein requested not to be attached to such activities. In the Vedas it is stated that the performance of sacrifice is the actual purpose of life. A section of the Indian population known as the Ārya-samājists lay too much stress on the sacrificial portion of the Vedas. This verse indicates, however, that such sacrifices are to be taken as illusory. Actually the aim of human life should be God realization, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The Vedic performances are, of course, very glittering and pleasing to hear about, but they do not serve the real purpose of life. |
TEXT 48 Sv& l/aek&- Na ivduSTae vE Ya}a devae JaNaadRNa" ) AahuDaURMa]iDaYaae ved& Sak-MaRk-MaTaiÜd" )) 48 )) svaṁ lokaṁ na vidus te vai yatra devo janārdanaḥ āhur dhūmra-dhiyo vedaṁ sakarmakam atad-vidaḥ SYNONYMS svam—own; lokam—abode; na—never; viduḥ—know; te—such persons; vai—certainly; yatra—where; devaḥ—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; janārdanaḥ—Kṛṣṇa, or Viṣṇu; āhuḥ—speak; dhūmra-dhiyaḥ—the less intelligent class of men; vedam—the four Vedas; sa-karmakam—full of ritualistic ceremonies; a-tat-vidaḥ—persons who are not in knowledge. TRANSLATION Those who are less intelligent accept the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies as all in all. They do not know that the purpose of the Vedas is to understand one’s own home, where the Supreme Personality of Godhead lives. Not being interested in their real home, they are illusioned and search after other homes. PURPORT Generally people are not aware of their interest in life—to return home, back to Godhead. People do not know about their real home in the spiritual world. In the spiritual world there are many Vaikuṇṭha planets, and the topmost planet is Kṛṣṇaloka, Goloka Vṛndāvana. Despite the so-called advancement of civilization, there is no information of the Vaikuṇṭhalokas, the spiritual planets. At the present moment so-called advanced civilized men are trying to go to other planets, but they do not know that even if they go to the highest planetary system, Brahmaloka, they have to come back again to this planet. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (8.16): ābrahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino ’rjuna mām upetya tu kaunteya punar janma na vidyate “From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kuntī, never takes birth again.” If one goes to the highest planetary system within this universe he still has to return after the effects of pious activities are finished. Space vehicles may go very high in the sky, but as soon as their fuel is finished, they have to return to this earthly planet. All these activities are performed in illusion. The real attempt should now be to return home, back to Godhead. The process is mentioned in Bhagavad-gītā. Yānti mad-yājino ’pi mām: those who engage in the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead return home, back to Godhead. Human life is very valuable, and one should not waste it in vain exploration of other planets. One should be intelligent enough to return to Godhead. One should be interested in information about the spiritual Vaikuṇṭha planets, and in particular the planet known as Goloka Vṛndāvana, and should learn the art of going there by the simple method of devotional service, beginning with hearing (śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ [SB 7.5.23]). This is also confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (12.3.51): kaler doṣa-nidhe rājann asti hy eko mahān guṇaḥ kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet One can go to the supreme planet (paraṁ vrajet) simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. This is especially meant for the people of this age (kaler doṣa-nidhe). It is the special advantage of this age that simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra one can become purified of all material contamination and return home, back to Godhead. There is no doubt about this. |
TEXT 50 hirdeRh>a*TaaMaaTMaa SvYa& Pa[k*-iTarqìr" ) TaTPaadMaUl&/ Xar<a& YaTa" +aeMaae Na*<aaiMah )) 50 )) harir deha-bhṛtām ātmā svayaṁ prakṛtir īśvaraḥ tat-pāda-mūlaṁ śaraṇaṁ yataḥ kṣemo nṛṇām iha SYNONYMS hariḥ—Śrī Hari; deha-bhṛtām—of living entities who have accepted material bodies; ātmā—the Supersoul; svayam—Himself; prakṛtiḥ—material nature; īśvaraḥ—the controller; tat—His; pāda-mūlam—feet; śaraṇam—shelter; yataḥ—from which; kṣemaḥ—good fortune; nṛṇām—of men; iha—in this world. TRANSLATION Śrī Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the Supersoul and guide of all living entities who have accepted material bodies within this world. He is the supreme controller of all material activities in material nature. He is also our best friend, and everyone should take shelter at His lotus feet. In doing so, one’s life will be auspicious. PURPORT In Bhagavad-gītā (18.61) it is said, īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe ’rjuna tiṣṭhati: “The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, O Arjuna.” The living entity is within the body, and the Supersoul, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is also there. He is called antaryāmī and caitya-guru. As Lord Kṛṣṇa states in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15), He is controlling everything. sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mataḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca “I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness.” Everything is being directed by the Supersoul within the body; therefore the better part of valor is to take His direction and be happy. To take His directions, one needs to be a devotee, and this is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (10.10): teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ yena mām upayānti te “To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.” Although the Supersoul is in everyone’s heart (īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe ’rjuna tiṣṭhati [Bg. 18.61]), He talks only to the pure devotees who constantly engage in His service. In Caitanya-bhāgavata (Antya 3.45) it is said: tāhāre se bali vidyā, mantra, adhyayana kṛṣṇa-pāda-padme ye karaye sthira mana “One who has fixed his mind on the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa is to be understood as having the best education and as having studied all the Vedas.” There are also other appropriate quotes in Caitanya-bhāgavata: sei se vidyāra phala jāniha niścaya kṛṣṇa-pāda-padme yadi citta-vṛtti raya “The perfect result of an education is the fixing of one’s mind on the lotus feet of Kṛṣ ’dig-vijaya kariba,’——vidyāra kārya nahe īśvare bhajile, sei vidyā ’satya’ kahe “Conquering the world by means of material education is not desirable. If one engages himself in devotional service, his education is perfected.” (Ādi 13.173) paḍe kene loka——kṛṣṇa-bhakti jānibāre se yadi nahila, tabe vidyāya ki kare “The purpose of education is to understand Kṛṣṇa and His devotional service. If one does not do so, then education is false.” (Ādi 12.49) tāhāre se bali dharma, karma sadācāra īśvare se prīti janme sammata sabāra “Being cultured, educated, very active and religious means developing natural love for Kṛṣṇa.” (Antya 3.44) Everyone has dormant love for Kṛṣṇa, and by culture and education that has to be awakened. That is the purpose of this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Once Lord Caitanya asked Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya what the best part of education was, and Rāmānanda Rāya replied that the best part of education is advancement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. |
TEXT 52 Naard ovac Pa[én Wv& ih SaiH^àae >avTa" PauåzzR>a ) A}a Mae vdTaae Gauù& iNaXaaMaYa SauiNaiêTaMa( )) 52 )) nārada uvāca praśna evaṁ hi sañchinno bhavataḥ puruṣarṣabha atra me vadato guhyaṁ niśāmaya suniścitam SYNONYMS nāradaḥ uvāca—Nārada said; praśnaḥ—question; evam—thus; hi—certainly; sañchinnaḥ—answered; bhavataḥ—your; puruṣa-ṛṣabha—O great personality; atra—here; me vadataḥ—as I am speaking; guhyam—confidential; niśāmaya—hear; su-niścitam—perfectly ascertained. TRANSLATION The great saint Nārada continued: O great personality, I have replied properly about all that you have asked me. Now hear another narration that is accepted by saintly persons and is very confidential. PURPORT Śrī Nārada Muni is personally acting as the spiritual master of King Barhiṣmān. It was Nārada Muni’s intention that through his instructions the King would immediately give up all engagement in fruitive activity and take to devotional service. However, although the King understood everything, he was still not prepared to give up his engagements. As the following verses will show, the King was contemplating sending for his sons, who were away from home executing austerities and penances. After their return, he would entrust his kingdom to them and then leave home. This is the position of most people. They accept a bona fide spiritual master and listen to him, but when the spiritual master indicates that they should leave home and fully engage in devotional service, they hesitate. The duty of the spiritual master is to instruct the disciple as long as he does not come to the understanding that this materialistic way of life, fruitive activity, is not at all beneficial. Actually, one should take to devotional service from the beginning of life, as Prahlāda Mahārāja advised: kaumāra ācaret prājño dharmān bhāgavatān iha (Bhāg. 7.6.1). According to all the instructions of the Vedas, we can understand that unless one takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and devotional service, he is simply wasting his time engaging in the fruitive activities of material existence. Nārada Muni therefore decided to relate another allegory to the King so that he might be induced to give up family life within material existence. |
SauMaNa"SaMaDaMaR<aa& ñq<aa& Xar<a Aaé[Mae PauZPaMaDauGaNDavT+aud]TaMa& k-aMYak-‚ MaRivPaak-Ja& k-aMaSau%l/v&-JaEûyaEPaSQYaaid-ivicNvNTa&-iMaQauNaq>aUYa Tadi>aiNave‚ iXaTaMaNaSa& z@x(iga]Ga<aSaaMaGaqTavdiTaMaNaaehrviNaTaaidJaNaal/aPaeZviTaTaraMaiTaPa[‚ l/aei>aTak-<aRMaGa]e v*k-YaUQavdaTMaNa AaYauhRrTaae_haera}aaNTaaNa( k-al/l/vivXaezaNaiv‚ Ga<aYYa-Ga*hezu-ivhrNTa& Pa*ïTa Wv Parae+aMaNauPa[v*taae lu/BDak-" k*-TaaNTaae_NTa"Xare<a YaiMah ParaivDYaiTa TaiMaMaMaaTMaaNaMahae raJaNa( i>aàôdYa& d]íuMahRSaqiTa )) 54 )) sumanaḥ-sama-dharmaṇāṁ strīṇāṁ śaraṇa āśrame puṣpa-madhu-gandhavat kṣudratamaṁ kāmya-karma-vipākajaṁ kāma-sukha-lavaṁ jaihvyaupasthyādi vicinvantaṁ mithunī-bhūya tad-abhiniveśita-manasaṁ ṣaḍaṅghri-gaṇa-sāma-gītavad atimanohara-vanitādi-janālāpeṣv atitarām atipralobhita-karṇam agre vṛka-yūthavad ātmana āyur harato ’ho-rātrān tān kāla-lava-viśeṣān avigaṇayya gṛheṣu viharantaṁ pṛṣṭhata eva parokṣam anupravṛtto lubdhakaḥ kṛtānto ’ntaḥ śareṇa yam iha parāvidhyati tam imam ātmānam aho rājan bhinna-hṛdayaṁ draṣṭum arhasīti. SYNONYMS sumanaḥ—flowers; sama-dharmaṇām—exactly like; strīṇām—of women; śaraṇe—in the shelter; āśrame—household life; puṣpa—in flowers; madhu—of honey; gandha—the aroma; vat—like; kṣudra-tamam—most insignificant; kāmya—desired; karma—of activities; vipāka-jam—obtained as a result; kāma-sukha—of sense gratification; lavam—a fragment; jaihvya—enjoyment of the tongue; aupasthya—sex enjoyment; ādi—beginning with; vicinvantam—always thinking of; mithunī-bhūya—engaging in sex life; tat—in his wife; abhiniveśita—always absorbed; manasam—whose mind; ṣaṭ-aṅghri—of bumblebees; gaṇa—of crowds; sāma—gentle; gīta—the chanting; vat—like; ati—very; manohara—attractive; vanitā-ādi—beginning with the wife; jana—of people; ālāpeṣu—to the talks; atitarām—excessively; ati—very much; pralobhita—attracted; karṇam—whose ears; agre—in front; vṛka-yūtha—a group of tigers; vat—like; ātmanaḥ—of one’s self; āyuḥ—span of life; harataḥ—taking away; ahaḥ-rātrān—days and nights; tān—all of them; kāla-lava-viśeṣān—the moments of time; avigaṇayya—without considering; gṛheṣu—in household life; viharantam—enjoying; pṛṣṭhataḥ—from the back; eva—certainly; parokṣam—without being seen; anupravṛttaḥ—following behind; lubdhakaḥ—the hunter; kṛta-antaḥ—the superintendent of death; antaḥ—in the heart; śareṇa—by an arrow; yam—whom; iha—in this world; parāvidhyati—pierces; tam—that; imam—this; ātmānam—yourself; aho rājan—O King; bhinna-hṛdayam—whose heart is pierced; draṣṭum—to see; arhasi—you ought; iti—thus. TRANSLATION My dear King, woman, who is very attractive in the beginning but in the end very disturbing, is exactly like the flower, which is attractive in the beginning and detestable at the end. With woman, the living entity is entangled with lusty desires, and he enjoys sex, just as one enjoys the aroma of a flower. He thus enjoys a life of sense gratification—from his tongue to his genitals—and in this way the living entity considers himself very happy in family life. United with his wife, he always remains absorbed in such thoughts. He feels great pleasure in hearing the talks of his wife and children, which are like the sweet humming of bumblebees that collect honey from flower to flower. He forgets that before him is time, which is taking away his life-span with the passing of day and night. He does not see the gradual diminishing of his life, nor does he care about the superintendent of death, who is trying to kill him from behind. Just try to understand this. You are in a precarious position and are threatened from all sides. PURPORT Materialistic life means forgetting one’s constitutional position as the eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, and this forgetfulness is especially enhanced in the gṛhastha-āśrama. In the gṛhastha-āśrama a young man accepts a young wife who is very beautiful in the beginning, but in due course of time, after giving birth to many children and becoming older and older, she demands many things from the husband to maintain the entire family. At such a time the wife becomes detestable to the very man who accepted her in her younger days. One becomes attached to the gṛhastha-āśrama for two reasons only—the wife cooks palatable dishes for the satisfaction of her husband’s tongue, and she gives him sexual pleasure at night. A person attached to the gṛhastha-āśrama is always thinking of these two things—palatable food and sex enjoyment. The talks of the wife, which are enjoyed as a family recreation, and the talks of the children both attract the living entity. He thus forgets that he has to die someday and has to prepare for the next life if he wants to be put into a congenial body. The deer in the flower garden is an allegory used by the great sage Nārada to point out to the King that the King himself is similarly entrapped by such surroundings. Actually everyone is surrounded by such a family life, which misleads one. The living entity thus forgets that he has to return home, back to Godhead. He simply becomes entangled in family life. Prahlāda Mahārāja has therefore hinted: hitvātma-pātaṁ gṛham andha-kūpaṁ vanaṁ gato yad dharim āśrayeta [SB 7.5.5]. Family life is considered a blind well (andha-kūpam) into which a person falls and dies without help. Prahlāda Mahārāja recommends that while one’s senses are there and one is strong enough, he should abandon the gṛhastha-āśrama and take shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord, going to the forest of Vṛndāvana. According to Vedic civilization, one has to give up family life at a certain age (the age of fifty), take vānaprastha and eventually remain alone as a sannyāsī. That is the prescribed method of Vedic civilization known as varṇāśrama-dharma. When one takes sannyāsa after enjoying family life, he pleases the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu. One has to understand one’s position in family or worldly life. That is called intelligence. One should not remain always trapped in family life to satisfy his tongue and genitals in association with a wife. In such a way, one simply spoils his life. According to Vedic civilization, it is imperative to give up the family at a certain stage, by force if necessary. Unfortunately, so-called followers of Vedic life do not give up their family even at the end of life, unless they are forced by death. There should be a thorough overhauling of the social system, and society should revert to the Vedic principles, that is, the four varṇas and the four āśramas. |
TEXT 56 raJaaevac é[uTaMaNvqi+aTa& b]øNa( >aGavaNa( Yad>aazTa ) NaETaÂaNaNTYauPaaDYaaYaa" ik&- Na b]UYauivRduYaRid )) 56 )) rājovāca śrutam anvīkṣitaṁ brahman bhagavān yad abhāṣata naitaj jānanty upādhyāyāḥ kiṁ na brūyur vidur yadi SYNONYMS rājā uvāca—the King said; śrutam—was heard; anvīkṣitam—was considered; brahman—O brāhmaṇa; bhagavān—the most powerful; yat—which; abhāṣata—you have spoken; na—not; etat—this; jānanti—do know; upādhyāyāḥ—the teachers of fruitive activities; kim—why; na brūyuḥ—they did not instruct; viduḥ—they understood; yadi—if. TRANSLATION The King replied: My dear brāhmaṇa, whatever you have said I have heard with great attention and, considering all of it, have come to the conclusion that the ācāryas [teachers] who engaged me in fruitive activity did not know this confidential knowledge. If they were aware of it, why did they not explain it to me? PURPORT Actually the so-called teachers or leaders of material society do not really know the goal of life. They are described in Bhagavad-gītā as māyayāpahṛta jñānāḥ. They appear to be very learned scholars, but actually the influence of the illusory energy has taken away their knowledge. Real knowledge means searching out Kṛṣṇa. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ [Bg. 15.15]. All Vedic knowledge is meant for searching out Kṛṣṇa because Kṛṣṇa is the origin of everything. Janmādy asya yataḥ [SB 1.1.1]. In Bhagavad-gītā (10.2) Kṛṣṇa says, aham ādir hi devānāṁ: “I am the source of the demigods.” Thus Kṛṣṇa is the origin and beginning of all demigods, including Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva and all others. The Vedic ritualistic ceremonies are concerned with satisfying different demigods, but unless one is very advanced, he cannot understand that the original personality is Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi **. After hearing the instructions of Nārada, King Barhiṣmān came to his senses. The real goal of life is to attain devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The King therefore decided to reject the so-called priestly orders that simply engage their followers in the ritualistic ceremonies without giving effective instructions about the goal of life. At the present moment the churches, temples and mosques all over the world are not attracting people because foolish priests cannot elevate their followers to the platform of knowledge. Not being aware of the real goal of life, they simply keep their congregations in ignorance. Consequently, those who are well educated have become uninterested in the ritualistic ceremonies. At the same time, they are not benefited with real knowledge. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is therefore very important for the enlightenment of all classes. Following in the footsteps of Mahārāja Barhiṣmān, everyone should take advantage of this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and abandon the stereotyped ritualistic ceremonies that go under the garb of so many religions. The Gosvāmīs from the very beginning differed from the priestly class that was engaged in ritualistic ceremonies. Indeed, Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī compiled his Hari-bhakti-vilāsa for the guidance of the Vaiṣṇavas. The Vaiṣṇavas, not caring for the lifeless activities of the priestly classes, take to full Kṛṣṇa consciousness and become perfect in this very life. That is described in the previous verse as paramahaṁsa-śaraṇam, taking shelter of the paramahaṁsa, the liberated soul, and becoming successful in this life. |
Sa&XaYaae_}a Tau Mae ivPa[ SaiH^àSTaTk*-Taae MahaNa( ) ‰zYaae_iPa ih MauùiNTa Ya}a NaeiNd]Yav*taYa" )) 57 )) saṁśayo ’tra tu me vipra sañchinnas tat-kṛto mahān ṛṣayo ’pi hi muhyanti yatra nendriya-vṛttayaḥ SYNONYMS saṁśayaḥ—doubt; atra—here; tu—but; me—my; vipra—O brāhmaṇa; sañchinnaḥ—cleared; tat-kṛtaḥ—done by that; mahān—very great; ṛṣayaḥ—the great sages; api—even; hi—certainly; muhyanti—are bewildered; yatra—where; na—not; indriya—of the senses; vṛttayaḥ—activities. TRANSLATION My dear brāhmaṇa, there are contradictions between your instructions and those of my spiritual teachers who engaged me in fruitive activities. I now can understand the distinction between devotional service, knowledge and renunciation. I had some doubts about them, but you have now very kindly dissipated all these doubts. I can now understand how even the great sages are bewildered by the real purpose of life. Of course, there is no question of sense gratification. PURPORT King Barhiṣmān was engaged in different types of sacrifice for elevation to the heavenly planets. People generally are attracted by these activities, and very rarely is a person attracted to devotional service, as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu confirms. Unless one is very, very fortunate, he does not take to devotional service. Even the so-called learned Vedic scholars are bewildered by devotional service. They are generally attracted to the rituals for sense gratification. In devotional service there is no sense gratification, but only transcendental loving service to the Lord. Consequently, the so-called priests engaged in sense gratification do not very much like devotional service. The brāhmaṇas, the priests, have been against this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement since it began with Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. When Caitanya Mahāprabhu started this movement, the priestly class lodged complaints to the Kazi, the magistrate of the Muhammadan government. Caitanya Mahāprabhu had to lead a civil disobedience movement against the propaganda of the so-called followers of Vedic principles. These people are described as karma jaḍa-smārtas, which indicates that they are priests engaged in ritualistic ceremonies. It is here stated that such people become bewildered (ṛṣayo ’pi hi muhyanti). To save oneself from the hands of these karma jaḍa-smārtas, one should strictly follow the instructions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ “Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.” (Bg. 18.66) |
Naard ovac YaeNaEvar>aTae k-MaR TaeNaEvaMau}a TaTPauMaaNa( ) >au»e ùVYavDaaNaeNa il/(r)eNa MaNaSaa SvYaMa( )) 60 )) nārada uvāca yenaivārabhate karma tenaivāmutra tat pumān bhuṅkte hy avyavadhānena liṅgena manasā svayam SYNONYMS nāradaḥ uvāca—Nārada said; yena—by which; eva—certainly; ārabhate—begins; karma—fruitive activities; tena—by that body; eva—certainly; amutra—in the next life; tat—that; pumān—the living entity; bhuṅkte—enjoys; hi—because; avyavadhānena—without any change; liṅgena—by the subtle body; manasā—by the mind; svayam—personally. TRANSLATION The great sage Nārada continued: The living entity acts in a gross body in this life. This body is forced to act by the subtle body, composed of mind, intelligence and ego. After the gross body is lost, the subtle body is still there to enjoy or suffer. Thus there is no change. PURPORT The living entity has two kinds of body—the subtle body and the gross body. Actually he enjoys through the subtle body, which is composed of mind, intelligence and ego. The gross body is the instrumental outer covering. When the gross body is lost, or when it dies, the root of the gross body—the mind, intelligence and ego—continues and brings about another gross body. Although the gross bodies apparently change, the real root of the gross body—the subtle body of mind, intelligence and ego—is always there. The subtle body’s activities—be they pious or impious—create another situation for the living entity to enjoy or suffer in the next gross body. Thus the subtle body continues whereas the gross bodies change one after another. Since modern scientists and philosophers are too materialistic, and since their knowledge is taken away by the illusory energy, they cannot explain how the gross body is changing. The materialistic philosopher Darwin has tried to study the changes of the gross body, but because he had no knowledge of either the subtle body or the soul, he could not clearly explain how the evolutionary process is going on. One may change the gross body, but he works in the subtle body. People cannot understand the activities of the subtle body, and consequently they are bewildered as to how the actions of one gross body affect another gross body. The activities of the subtle body are also guided by the Supersoul, as explained in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15): sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca “I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness.” Because the Supreme Personality of Godhead as Supersoul is always guiding the individual soul, the individual soul always knows how to act according to the reactions of his past karma. In other words, the Supersoul reminds him to act in such a way. Therefore although there is apparently a change in the gross body, there is a continuation between the lives of an individual soul. |
TEXT 61 XaYaaNaiMaMaMauTSa*JYa ìSaNTa& Pauåzae YaQaa ) k-MaaRTMaNYaaihTa& >au»e Taad*XaeNaeTare<a va )) 61 )) śayānam imam utsṛjya śvasantaṁ puruṣo yathā karmātmany āhitaṁ bhuṅkte tādṛśenetareṇa vā SYNONYMS śayānam—lying down on a bed; imam—this body; utsṛjya—after giving up; śvasantam—breathing; puruṣaḥ—the living entity; yathā—as; karma—activity; ātmani—in the mind; āhitam—executed; bhuṅkte—enjoys; tādṛśena—by a similar body; itareṇa—by a different body; vā—or. TRANSLATION The living entity, while dreaming, gives up the actual living body. Through the activities of his mind and intelligence, he acts in another body, either as a god or a dog. After giving up this gross body, the living entity enters either an animal body or a demigod’s body on this planet or on another planet. He thus enjoys the results of the actions of his past life. PURPORT Although the root of distress and happiness is the mind, intelligence and ego, a gross body is still required as an instrument for enjoyment. The gross body may change, but the subtle body continues to act. Unless the living entity gets another gross body, he will have to continue in a subtle body, or a ghostly body. One becomes a ghost when the subtle body acts without the help of the instrumental gross body. As stated in this verse, śayānam imam utsṛjya śvasantam. The gross body may lie on a bed and rest, and even though the machinery of the gross body is working, the living entity may leave, go into a dream, and return to the gross body. When he returns to the body, he forgets his dream. Similarly, when the living entity takes on another gross body, he forgets the present gross body. The conclusion is that the subtle body—mind, intelligence and ego—creates an atmosphere with desires and ambitions that the living entity enjoys in the subtle body. Actually the living entity is in the subtle body, even though the gross body apparently changes and even though he inhabits the gross body on various planets. All the activities performed by the living entity in the subtle body are called illusory because they are not permanent. Liberation means getting out of the clutches of the subtle body. Liberation from the gross body simply involves the transmigration of the soul from one gross body to another. When the mind is educated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or higher consciousness in the mode of goodness, one is transferred either to the upper, heavenly planets or to the spiritual world, the Vaikuṇṭha planets. One therefore has to change his consciousness by cultivating knowledge received from Vedic instructions from the Supreme Personality of Godhead through the disciplic succession. If we train the subtle body in this life by always thinking about Kṛṣṇa, we will transfer to Kṛṣṇaloka after leaving the gross body. This is confirmed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. janma karma ca me divyam evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti so ’rjuna “One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.” (Bg. 4.9) Thus the change of the gross body is not very important, but the change of the subtle body is important. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is educating people to enlighten the subtle body. The perfect example in this regard is Ambarīṣa Mahārāja, who always engaged his mind on the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ. Similarly, in this life we should always fix our mind on the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, who is present in His arcā-vigraha, the incarnation of the Deity in the temple. We should also always engage in His worship. If we engage our speech in describing the activities of the Lord and our ears in hearing about His pastimes, and if we follow the regulative principles to keep the mind intact for advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we shall certainly be elevated to the spiritual platform. Then at the time of death the mind, intelligence and ego will no longer be materially contaminated. The living entity is present, and the mind, intelligence and ego are also present. When the mind, intelligence and ego are purified, all the active senses of the living entity become spiritual. Thus the living entity attains his sac-cid-ānanda form. The Supreme Lord is always in His sac-cid-ānanda form, but the living entity, although part and parcel of the Lord, becomes materially contaminated when he desires to come to the material world for material enjoyment. The prescription for returning home, back to Godhead, is given by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gītā (9.34): man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru mām evaiṣyasi yuktvaivam ātmānaṁ mat-parāyaṇaḥ “Always think of Me and become My devotee. Worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me.” |
MaMaETae MaNaSaa YaÛdSaavhiMaiTa b]uvNa( ) Ga*õqYaataTPauMaaNa( raÖ& k-MaR YaeNa PauNa>aRv" )) 62 )) mamaite manasā yad yad asāv aham iti bruvan gṛhṇīyāt tat pumān rāddhaṁ karma yena punar bhavaḥ SYNONYMS mama—mind; ete—all these; manasā—by the mind; yat yat—whatever; asau—that; aham—I (am); iti—thus; bruvan—accepting; gṛhṇīyāt—takes with him; tat—that; pumān—the living entity; rāddham—perfected; karma—work; yena—by which; punaḥ—again; bhavaḥ—material existence. TRANSLATION The living entity labors under the bodily conception of “I am this, I am that. My duty is this, and therefore I shall do it.” These are all mental impressions, and all these activities are temporary; nonetheless, by the grace of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the living entity gets a chance to execute all his mental concoctions. Thus he gets another body. PURPORT As long as one is absorbed in the bodily conception, his activities are performed on that platform. This is not very difficult to understand. In the world, we see that every nation is trying to supersede every other nation and that every man is trying to advance beyond his fellow man. All these activities are going on under the name of advancement of civilization. There are many plans for making the body comfortable, and these plans are carried in the subtle body after the destruction of the gross body. It is not a fact that after the gross body is destroyed the living entity is finished. Although many great philosophers and teachers in this world are under the impression that after the body is finished everything is finished, this is not a fact. Nārada Muni says in this verse that at death one takes his plans with him (gṛhṇīyāt), and to execute these plans he gets another body. This is called punar bhavaḥ. When the gross body is finished, the plans of the living entity are taken by the mind, and by the grace of the Lord, the living entity gets a chance to give these plans shape in the next life. This is known as the law of karma. As long as the mind is absorbed in the laws of karma, a certain type of body must be accepted in the next life. Karma is the aggregate of fruitive activities conducted to make this body comfortable or uncomfortable. We have actually seen that when one man was about to die he requested his physician to give him a chance to live four more years so that he could finish his plans. This means that while dying he was thinking of his plans. After his body was destroyed, he doubtlessly carried his plans with him by means of the subtle body, composed of mind, intelligence and ego. Thus he would get another chance by the grace of the Supreme Lord, the Supersoul, who is always within the heart. In the next birth, one acquires remembrance from the Supersoul and begins to execute the plans begun in the previous life. This is also explained in Bhagavad-gītā in another verse: īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe ’rjuna tiṣṭhati bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni yantrārūḍhāni māyayā “The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy.” (Bg. 18.61) Situated on the vehicle given by material nature and reminded by the Supersoul within the heart, the living entity struggles all over the universe to fulfill his plans, thinking, “I am a brāhmaṇa,” “I am a kṣatriya,” “I am an American,” “I am an Indian,” and so on. All these designations are of the same essence. There is no point in becoming a brāhmaṇa in preference to an American or becoming an American in preference to a Negro. After all, these are all bodily conceptions under the modes of material nature. |
TEXT 64 NaaNau>aUTa& Kv caNaeNa deheNaad*íMaé[uTaMa( ) k-daicduPal/>YaeTa Yad]UPa& Yaad*GaaTMaiNa )) 64 )) nānubhūtaṁ kva cānena dehenādṛṣṭam aśrutam kadācid upalabhyeta yad rūpaṁ yādṛg ātmani SYNONYMS na—never; anubhūtam—experienced; kva—at any time; ca—also; anena dehena—by this body; adṛṣṭam—never seen; aśrutam—never heard; kadācit—sometimes; upalabhyeta—may be experienced; yat—which; rūpam—form; yādṛk—whatever kind; ātmani—in the mind. TRANSLATION Sometimes we suddenly experience something that was never experienced in the present body by sight or hearing. Sometimes we see such things suddenly in dreams. PURPORT In dreams we sometimes see things that we have never experienced in the present body. Sometimes in dreams we think that we are flying in the sky, although we have no experience of flying. This means that once in a previous life, either as a demigod or astronaut, we flew in the sky. The impression is there in the stockpile of the mind, and it suddenly expresses itself. It is like fermentation taking place in the depths of water, which sometimes manifests itself in bubbles on the water’s surface. Sometimes we dream of coming to a place we have never known or experienced in this lifetime, but this is proof that in a past life we experienced this. The impression is kept within the mind and sometimes becomes manifest either in dream or in thought. The conclusion is that the mind is the storehouse of various thoughts and experiences undergone during our past lives. Thus there is a chain of continuation from one life to another, from previous lives to this life, and from this life to future lives. This is also sometimes proved by saying that a man is a born poet, a born scientist or a born devotee. If, like Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, we think of Kṛṣṇa constantly in this life (sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ), we will certainly be transferred to the kingdom of God at the time of death. Even if our attempt to be Kṛṣṇa conscious is not complete, our Kṛṣṇa consciousness will continue in the next life. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (6.41): prāpya puṇya-kṛtāṁ lokān uṣitvā śāśvatīḥ samāḥ śucīnāṁ śrīmatāṁ gehe yoga-bhraṣṭo ’bhijāyate “The unsuccessful yogī, after many, many years of enjoyment on the planets of the pious living entities, is born into a family of righteous people, or into a family of rich aristocracy.” If we rigidly follow the principles of meditation on Kṛṣṇa, there is no doubt that in our next life we will be transferred to Kṛṣṇaloka, Goloka Vṛndāvana. |
TEXT 65 TaeNaaSYa Taad*Xa& raJmaiçi(r)Naae dehSaM>avMa( ) é[ÖTSvaNaNau>aUTaae_QaaeR Na MaNa" SPa[íuMahRiTa )) 65 )) tenāsya tādṛśaṁ rājaḹ liṅgino deha-sambhavam śraddhatsvānanubhūto ’rtho na manaḥ spraṣṭum arhati SYNONYMS tena—therefore; asya—of the living entity; tādṛśam—like that; rājan—O King; liṅginaḥ—who has a subtle mental covering; deha-sambhavam—produced in the previous body; śraddhatsva—accept it as fact; ananubhūtaḥ—not perceived; arthaḥ—a thing; na—never; manaḥ—in the mind; spraṣṭum—to manifest; arhati—is able. TRANSLATION Therefore, my dear King, the living entity, who has a subtle mental covering, develops all kinds of thoughts and images because of his previous body. Take this from me as certain. There is no possibility of concocting anything mentally without having perceived it in the previous body. PURPORT kṛṣṇa-bahirmukha hañā bhoga-vāñchā kare nikaṭa-stha māyā tāre jāpaṭiyā dhare (Prema-vivarta) Actually the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is the supreme enjoyer. When a living entity wants to imitate Him, he is given a chance to satisfy his false desire to lord it over material nature. That is the beginning of his downfall. As long as he is within this material atmosphere, he has a subtle vehicle in the form of the mind, which is the stockpile of all kinds of material desires. Such desires become manifest in different bodily forms. Śrīla Nārada Muni requests the King to accept this fact from him because Nārada is an authority. The conclusion is that the mind is the storehouse of our past desires, and we have this present body due to our past desires. Similarly, whatever we desire in this present body will be expressed in a future body. Thus the mind is the source of different kinds of bodies. If the mind is purified by Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one will naturally in the future get a body that is spiritual and full of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Such a body is our original form, as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu confirms, jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya—kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’: [Cc. Madhya 20.108] “Every living entity is constitutionally an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa.” If a person is engaged in the devotional service of the Lord, he is to be considered a liberated soul even in this life. This is confirmed by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī: īhā yasya harer dāsye karmaṇā manasā girā nikhilāsv apy avasthāsu jīvan-muktaḥ sa ucyate “One who engages in the transcendental service of the Lord in body, mind and words is to be considered liberated in all conditions of material existence.” (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.187) The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is based on this principle. We must teach people to absorb themselves always in the service of the Lord because that position is their natural position. One who is always serving the Lord is to be considered already liberated. This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (14.26): māṁ ca yo ’vyabhicāreṇa bhakti-yogena sevate sa guṇān samatityaitān brahma-bhuyāya kalpate “One who always engages in the spiritual activities of unalloyed devotional service at once transcends the modes of material nature and is elevated to the spiritual platform.” The devotee is therefore above the three modes of material nature and is even transcendental to the brāhmaṇa platform. A brāhmaṇa may be infected by the two baser modes—namely rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa. A pure devotee, who is free from all material desires experienced on the mental platform and who is also free from empiric philosophical speculation or fruitive activity, is always above material conditioning and is always liberated. |
MaNa Wv MaNauZYaSYa PaUvRæPaai<a Xa&SaiTa ) >aivZYaTaê >ad]& Tae TaQaEv Na >aivZYaTa" )) 66 )) mana eva manuṣyasya pūrva-rūpāṇi śaṁsati bhaviṣyataś ca bhadraṁ te tathaiva na bhaviṣyataḥ SYNONYMS manaḥ—the mind; eva—certainly; manuṣyasya—of a man; pūrva—past; rūpāṇi—forms; śaṁsati—indicates; bhaviṣyataḥ—of one who will take birth; ca—also; bhadram—good fortune; te—unto you; tathā—thus; eva—certainly; na—not; bhaviṣyataḥ—of one who will take birth. TRANSLATION O King, all good fortune unto you! The mind is the cause of the living entity’s attaining a certain type of body in accordance with his association with material nature. According to one’s mental composition, one can understand what the living entity was in his past life as well as what kind of body he will have in the future. Thus the mind indicates the past and future bodies. PURPORT The mind is the index of information about one’s past and future lives. If a man is a devotee of the Lord, he cultivated devotional service in his previous life. Similarly, if one’s mind is criminal, he was criminal in his last life. In the same way, according to the mind, we can understand what will happen in a future life. In Bhagavad-gītā (14.18) it is said: ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthā madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ “Those situated in the mode of goodness gradually go upward to the higher planets; those in the mode of passion live on the earthly planets; and those in the mode of ignorance go down to the hellish worlds.” If a person is in the mode of goodness, his mental activities will promote him to a higher planetary system. Similarly, if he has a low mentality, his future life will be most abominable. The lives of the living entity, in both the past and the future, are indicated by the mental condition. Nārada Muni is herein offering the King blessings of all good fortune so that the King will not desire anything or make plans for sense gratification. The King was engaged in fruitive ritualistic ceremonies because he hoped to get a better life in the future. Nārada Muni desired him to give up all mental concoctions. As explained before, all bodies in heavenly planets and hellish planets arise from mental concoctions, and the sufferings and enjoyments of material life are simply on the mental platform. They take place on the chariot of the mind (mano-ratha). It is therefore said: yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā mano-rathenāsati dhāvato bahiḥ “One who has unflinching devotion for the Personality of Godhead has all the good qualities of the demigods. But one who is not a devotee of the Lord has only material qualifications, that are of little value. This is because he is hovering on the mental plane and is certain to be attracted by the glaring material energy.” (Bhāg. 5.18.12) Unless one becomes a devotee of the Lord, or becomes fully Kṛṣṇa conscious, he will certainly hover on the mental platform and be promoted and degraded in different types of bodies. All qualities that are considered good according to the material estimation actually have no value because these so-called good qualities will not save a person from the cycle of birth and death. The conclusion is that one should be without mental desire. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam: [Madhya 19.167] one should be fully free from material desires, philosophical speculation and fruitive activity. The best course for a human being is to favorably accept the transcendental devotional service of the Lord. That is the highest perfection of human life. |
TEXT 71 SauiáMaUC^aeRPaTaaPaezu Pa[a<aaYaNaivgaaTaTa" ) NaehTae_hiMaiTa jaNa& Ma*TYauPa[JvarYaaeriPa )) 71 )) supti-mūrcchopatāpeṣu prāṇāyana-vighātataḥ nehate ’ham iti jñānaṁ mṛtyu-prajvārayor api SYNONYMS supti—in deep sleep; mūrccha—fainting; upatāpeṣu—or in great shock; prāṇa-ayana—of the movement of the life air; vighātataḥ—from prevention; na—not; īhate—thinks of; aham—I; iti—thus; jñānam—knowledge; mṛtyu—while dying; prajvārayoḥ—or during high fever; api—also. TRANSLATION When the living entity is in deep sleep, when he faints, when there is some great shock on account of severe loss, at the time of death, or when the body temperature is very high, the movement of the life air is arrested. At that time the living entity loses knowledge of identifying the body with the self. PURPORT Foolish people deny the existence of the soul, but it is a fact that when we sleep we forget the identity of the material body and when we awake we forget the identity of the subtle body. In other words, while sleeping we forget the activities of the gross body, and when active in the gross body we forget the activities of sleeping. Actually both states—sleeping and waking—are creations of the illusory energy. The living entity actually has no connection with either the activities of sleep or the activities of the so-called wakened state. When a person is in deep sleep or when he has fainted, he forgets his gross body. Similarly, under chloroform or some other anesthetic, the living entity forgets his gross body and does not feel pain or pleasure during a surgical operation. Similarly, when a man is suddenly shocked by some great loss, he forgets his identification with the gross body. At the time of death, when the temperature of the body rises to 107 degrees, the living entity falls into a coma and is unable to identify his gross body. In such cases, the life air that moves within the body is choked up, and the living entity forgets his identification with the gross body. Because of our ignorance of the spiritual body, of which we have no experience, we do not know of the activities of the spiritual body, and in ignorance we jump from one false platform to another. We act sometimes in relation to the gross body and sometimes in relation to the subtle body. If, by Kṛṣṇa’s grace, we act in our spiritual body, we can transcend both the gross and subtle bodies. In other words, we can gradually train ourselves to act in terms of the spiritual body. As stated in the Nārada-pañcarātra, hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate: [Cc. Madhya 19.170] devotional service means engaging the spiritual body and spiritual senses in the service of the Lord. When we are engaged in such activities, the actions and reactions of the gross and subtle bodies cease. |
TEXT 74 Wv& PaÄivDa& il/(r)& i}av*Ta( zae@XaivSTa*TaMa( ) Wz ceTaNaYaa Yau¢-ae Jaqv wTYai>aDaqYaTae )) 74 )) evaṁ pañca-vidhaṁ liṅgaṁ tri-vṛt ṣoḍaśa vistṛtam eṣa cetanayā yukto jīva ity abhidhīyate SYNONYMS evam—thus; pañca-vidham—the five sense objects; liṅgam—the subtle body; tri-vṛt—influenced by the three modes; ṣoḍaśa—sixteen; vistṛtam—expanded; eṣaḥ—this; cetanayā—with the living entity; yuktaḥ—combined; jīvaḥ—the conditioned soul; iti—thus; abhidhīyate—is understood. TRANSLATION The five sense objects, the five sense organs, the five knowledge-acquiring senses and the mind are the sixteen material expansions. These combine with the living entity and are influenced by the three modes of material nature. Thus the existence of the conditioned soul is understood. PURPORT Lord Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (15.7): mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati “The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal, fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind.” Here it is also explained that the living entity comes in contact with the sixteen material elements and is influenced by the three modes of material nature. The living entity and this combination of elements combine to form what is called jīva-bhūta, the conditioned soul that struggles hard within material nature. The total material existence is first agitated by the three modes of material nature, and these become the living conditions of the living entity. Thus the subtle and gross bodies develop, and the ingredients are earth, water, fire, air, sky, and so on. According to Śrī Madhvācārya, when consciousness, the living force in the heart, is agitated by the three modes of material nature, then the subtle body of the living entity, consisting of the mind, the sense objects, the five senses that acquire knowledge and the five senses for acting in the material condition, becomes possible. |
ANaeNa Pauåzae dehaNauPaadtae ivMauÄiTa ) hz| Xaaek&- >aYa& du"%& Sau%& caNaeNa ivNdiTa )) 75 )) anena puruṣo dehān upādatte vimuñcati harṣaṁ śokaṁ bhayaṁ duḥkhaṁ sukhaṁ cānena vindati SYNONYMS anena—by this process; puruṣaḥ—the living entity; dehān—gross bodies; upādatte—achieves; vimuñcati—gives up; harṣam—enjoyment; śokam—lamentation; bhayam—fear; duḥkham—unhappiness; sukham—happiness; ca—also; anena—by the gross body; vindati—enjoys. TRANSLATION By virtue of the processes of the subtle body, the living entity develops and gives up gross bodies. This is known as the transmigration of the soul. Thus the soul becomes subjected to different types of so-called enjoyment, lamentation, fear, happiness and unhappiness. PURPORT According to this explanation, one can clearly understand that originally the living entity was as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead in his pure, spiritual existence. However, when the mind becomes polluted by desires for sense gratification in the material world, the living entity drops into the material conditions, as explained in this verse. Thus he begins his material existence, which means that he transmigrates from one body to another and becomes more and more entangled in material existence. The process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, by which one always thinks of Kṛṣṇa, is the transcendental process by which one can revert to his original, spiritual existence. Devotional service means always thinking of Kṛṣṇa. man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru mām evaiṣyasi satyaṁ te pratijāne priyo ’si me “Always think of Me and become My devotee. Worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend.” (Bg. 18.65) One should always engage in the Lord’s devotional service. As recommended in the arcana-mārga, one should worship the Deity in the temple and constantly offer obeisances to the spiritual master and the Deity. These processes are recommended to one who actually wants to become free from material entanglement. Modern psychologists can study the actions of the mind—thinking, feeling and willing—but they are unable to go deep into the matter. This is due to their lack of knowledge and to their not being associated with a liberated ācārya. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (4.2): evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ sa kāleneha mahatā yogo naṣṭaḥ parantapa “This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way. But in course of time the succession was broken, and therefore the science as it is appears to be lost.” Guided by so-called psychologists and philosophers, people in the modern age do not know of the activities of the subtle body and thus cannot understand what is meant by the transmigration of the soul. In these matters we have to take the authorized statements of Bhagavad-gītā (2.13): dehino ’smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati “As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change.” Unless all human society understands this important verse in Bhagavad-gītā, civilization will advance in ignorance, not in knowledge. |
TEXTS 76–77 YaQaa Ta*<aJalU/ke-Ya& NaaPaYaaTYaPaYaaiTa c ) Na TYaJaeiNMa]YaMaa<aae_iPa Pa[aGdehai>aMaiTa& JaNa" )) 76 )) YaavdNYa& Na ivNdeTa VYavDaaNaeNa k-MaR<aaMa( ) MaNa Wv MaNauZYaeNd] >aUTaaNaa& >av>aavNaMa( )) 77 )) yathā tṛṇa-jalūkeyaṁ nāpayāty apayāti ca na tyajen mriyamāṇo ’pi prāg-dehābhimatiṁ janaḥ yāvad anyaṁ na vindeta vyavadhānena karmaṇām mana eva manuṣyendra bhūtānāṁ bhava-bhāvanam SYNONYMS yathā—as; tṛṇa-jalūkā—caterpillar; iyam—this; na apayāti —does not go; apayāti—goes; ca—also; na—not; tyajet—gives up; mriyamāṇaḥ—at the point of death; api—even; prāk—former; deha—with the body; abhimatim—identification; janaḥ—a person; yāvat—so long as; anyam—another; na—not; vindeta—obtains; vyavadhānena—by the termination; karmaṇām—of fruitive activities; manaḥ—the mind; eva—certainly; manuṣya-indra—O ruler of men; bhūtānām—of all living entities; bhava—of material existence; bhāvanam—the cause. TRANSLATION The caterpillar transports itself from one leaf to another by capturing one leaf before giving up the other. Similarly, according to his previous work, the living entity must capture another body before giving up the one he has. This is because the mind is the reservoir of all kinds of desires. PURPORT A living entity too much absorbed in material activity becomes very much attracted to the material body. Even at the point of death, he thinks of his present body and the relatives connected to it. Thus he remains fully absorbed in the bodily conception of life, so much so that even at the point of death he abhors leaving his present body. Sometimes it is found that a person on the verge of death remains in a coma for many days before giving up the body. This is common among so-called leaders and politicians who think that without their presence the entire country and all society will be in chaos. This is called māyā. Political leaders do not like to leave their political posts, and they either have to be shot by an enemy or obliged to leave by the arrival of death. By superior arrangement a living entity is offered another body, but because of his attraction to the present body, he does not like to transfer himself to another body. Thus he is forced to accept another body by the laws of nature. prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate “The bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three modes of material nature, thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by nature.” (Bg. 3.27) Material nature is very strong, and the material modes force one to accept another body. This force is visible when the living entity transmigrates from a superior body to an inferior one. One who acts like a dog or hog in the present body will certainly be forced to accept the body of a dog or hog in the next life. A person may be enjoying the body of a prime minister or a president, but when he understands that he will be forced to accept the body of a dog or hog, he chooses not to leave the present body. Therefore he lies in a coma many days before death. This has been experienced by many politicians at the time of death. The conclusion is that the next body is already determined by superior control. The living entity immediately gives up the present body and enters another. Sometimes in the present body the living entity feels that many of his desires and imaginations are not fulfilled. Those who are overly attracted to their life situation are forced to remain in a ghostly body and are not allowed to accept another gross body. Even in the body of a ghost, they create disturbances for neighbors and relatives. The mind is the prime cause of such a situation. According to one’s mind, different types of bodies are generated, and one is forced to accept them. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (8.6): yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁ tyajaty ante kalevaram taṁ tam evaiti kaunteya sadā tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ “Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, that state he will attain without fail.” Within one’s body and mind, one can think as either a dog or a god, and the next life is offered to him accordingly. This is explained in Bhagavad-gītā (13.22): puruṣaḥ prakṛti-stho hi bhuṅkte prakṛtijān guṇān kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo ’sya sad-asad-yoni-janmasu “The living entity in material nature thus follows the ways of life, enjoying the three modes of nature. This is due to his association with that material nature. Thus he meets with good and evil among various species.” The living entity may transmigrate to either a superior or inferior body according to his association with the modes of material nature. If he associates with the mode of ignorance, he gets the body of an animal or an inferior man, but if he associates with the mode of goodness or passion, he gets a body accordingly. This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (14.18): ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthā madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ “Those situated in the mode of goodness gradually go upward to the higher planets; those in the mode of passion live on the earthly planets; and those in the mode of ignorance go down to the hellish worlds.” The root cause of one’s association is the mind. This great Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is the greatest boon to human society because it is teaching everyone to think always of Kṛṣṇa by executing devotional service. In this way, at the end of life, one may be transferred to the association of Kṛṣṇa. This is technically called nitya-līlā-praviṣṭa, entering into the planet Goloka Vṛndāvana. Bhagavad-gītā (18.55) explains: bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ tato māṁ tattvato jñātvā viśate tad-anantaram “One can understand the Supreme Personality as He is only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of the Supreme Lord by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God.” After the mind is completely absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one can enter the planet known as Goloka Vṛndāvana. To enter the association of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one has to understand Kṛṣṇa. The process of understanding Kṛṣṇa is devotional service. After understanding Kṛṣṇa as He is, one can become eligible to enter Kṛṣṇaloka and associate with Him. The mind is the cause of such an exalted position. The mind can also get one a body like those of dogs and hogs. To absorb the mind always in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is therefore the greatest perfection of human life. |
Yada+aEêirTaaNa( DYaaYaNa( k-MaaR<YaaicNauTae_Sak*-Ta( ) SaiTa k-MaR<YaivÛaYaa& bNDa" k-MaR<YaNaaTMaNa" )) 78 )) yadākṣaiś caritān dhyāyan karmāṇy ācinute ’sakṛt sati karmaṇy avidyāyāṁ bandhaḥ karmaṇy anātmanaḥ SYNONYMS yadā—when; akṣaiḥ—by the senses; caritān—pleasures enjoyed; dhyāyan—thinking of; karmāṇi—activities; ācinute—performs; asakṛt—always; sati karmaṇi—when material affairs continue; avidyāyām—under illusion; bandhaḥ—bondage; karmaṇi—in activity; anātmanaḥ—of the material body. TRANSLATION As long as we desire to enjoy sense gratification, we create material activities. When the living entity acts in the material field, he enjoys the senses, and while enjoying the senses, he creates another series of material activities. In this way the living entity becomes entrapped as a conditioned soul. PURPORT While in the subtle body, we create many plans to enjoy sense gratification. These plans are recorded in the spool of one’s mind as bīja, the root of fruitive activities. In conditional life the living entity creates a series of bodies one after another, and this is called karma-bandhana. As explained in Bhagavad-gītā (3.9), yajñārthāt karmaṇo ’nyatra loko ’yam-karma-bandhanaḥ: if we act only for the satisfaction of Viṣṇu, there is no bondage due to material activity, but if we act otherwise, we become entrapped by one material activity after another. Under these circumstances, it is to be supposed that by thinking, feeling and willing, we are creating a series of future material bodies. In the words of Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, anādi karama-phale, padi’ bhavārṇava jale. The living entity falls into the ocean of karma-bandhana as a result of past material activities. Instead of plunging oneself into the ocean of material activity, one should accept material activity only to maintain body and soul together. The rest of one’s time should be devoted to engaging in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. In this way one can attain relief from the reactions of material activity. |
TEXT 79 ATaSTadPavadaQa| >aJa SavaRTMaNaa hirMa( ) PaXYa&STadaTMak&- ivì& iSQaTYauTPatYaPYaYaa YaTa" )) 79 )) atas tad apavādārthaṁ bhaja sarvātmanā harim paśyaṁs tad-ātmakaṁ viśvaṁ sthity-utpatty-apyayā yataḥ SYNONYMS ataḥ—therefore; tat—that; apavāda-artham—to counteract; bhaja—engage in devotional service; sarva-ātmanā—with all your senses; harim—unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; paśyan—seeing; tat—of the Lord; ātmakam—under the control; viśvam—the cosmic manifestation; sthiti—maintenance; utpatti—creation; apyayāḥ—and annihilation; yataḥ—from whom. TRANSLATION You should always know that this cosmic manifestation is created, maintained and annihilated by the will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Consequently, everything within this cosmic manifestation is under the control of the Lord. To be enlightened by this perfect knowledge, one should always engage himself in the devotional service of the Lord. PURPORT Self-realization, understanding oneself as Brahman, or spirit soul, is very difficult in the material condition. However, if we accept the devotional service of the Lord, the Lord will gradually reveal Himself. In this way the progressive devotee will gradually realize his spiritual position. We cannot see anything in the darkness of night, not even our own selves, but when there is sunshine we can see not only the sun but everything within the world as well. Lord Kṛṣṇa explains in the Seventh Chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā (7.1): mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha yogaṁ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ asaṁśayaṁ samagraṁ māṁ yathā jñāsyasi tac chṛṇu “Now hear, O son of Pṛthā [Arjuna], how by practicing yoga in full consciousness of Me, with mind attached to Me, you can know Me in full, free from doubt.” When we engage ourselves in the devotional service of the Lord to become Kṛṣṇa conscious, we understand not only Kṛṣṇa but everything related to Kṛṣṇa. In other words, through Kṛṣṇa consciousness we can understand not only Kṛṣṇa and the cosmic manifestation but also our constitutional position. In Kṛṣṇa consciousness we can understand that the entire material creation is created by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, maintained by Him, annihilated by Him and absorbed in Him. We are also part and parcel of the Lord. Everything is under the control of the Lord, and therefore our only duty is to surrender unto the Supreme and engage in His transcendental loving service. |
TEXT 82 Ta}aEk-aGa]MaNaa Daqrae GaaeivNdcr<aaMbuJaMa( ) ivMau¢-Sa(r)ae_Nau>aJaNa( >a¢-ya TaTSaaMYaTaaMaGaaTa( )) 82 )) tatraikāgra-manā dhīro govinda-caraṇāmbujam vimukta-saṅgo ’nubhajan bhaktyā tat-sāmyatām agāt SYNONYMS tatra—there; eka-agra-manāḥ—with full attention; dhīraḥ—sober; govinda—of Kṛṣṇa; caraṇa-ambujam—unto the lotus feet; vimukta—freed from; saṅgaḥ—material association; anubhajan—continuously engaging in devotional service; bhaktyā—by pure devotion; tat—with the Lord; sāmyatām—qualitative equality; agāt—achieved. TRANSLATION Having undergone austerities and penances at Kapilāśrama, King Prācīnabarhi attained full liberation from all material designations. He constantly engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord and attained a spiritual position qualitatively equal to that of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. PURPORT There is special significance in the words tat-sāmyatām agāt. The King attained the position of possessing the same status or the same form as that of the Lord. This definitely proves that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is always a person. In His impersonal feature, He is the rays of His transcendental body. When a living entity attains spiritual perfection, he also attains the same type of body, known as sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha [Bs. 5.1]. This spiritual body never mixes with the material elements. Although in conditional life the living entity is surrounded by material elements (earth, water, fire, air, sky, mind, intelligence and ego), he remains always aloof from them. In other words, the living entity can be liberated from the material condition at any moment, provided that he wishes to do so. The material environment is called māyā. According to Kṛṣṇa: daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te “This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.” (Bg. 7.14) As soon as the living entity engages in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, he immediately attains freedom from all material conditions (sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate [Bg. 14.26]). In the material state the living entity is on the jīva-bhūta platform, but when he renders devotional service to the Lord, he is elevated to the brahma-bhūta platform. On the brahma-bhūta platform the living entity is liberated from material bondage, and he engages in the service of the Lord. In this verse the word dhīra is sometimes read as vīra. Actually there is not very much difference. The word dhīra means “sober,” and vīra means “hero.” One who is struggling against māyā is a hero, and one who is sober enough to understand his position is a dhīra. Without becoming sober or heroic, one cannot attain spiritual salvation. |
WTaNMauku-NdYaXaSaa >auvNa& PauNaaNa& devizRvYaRMau%iNa"Sa*TaMaaTMaXaaEcMa( ) Ya" k-ITYaRMaaNaMaiDaGaC^iTa PaarMaeïy& NaaiSMaNa( >ave >a]MaiTa Mau¢-SaMaSTabNDa" )) 84 )) etan mukunda-yaśasā bhuvanaṁ punānaṁ devarṣi-varya-mukha-niḥsṛtam ātma-śaucam yaḥ kīrtyamānam adhigacchati pārameṣṭhyaṁ nāsmin bhave bhramati mukta-samasta-bandhaḥ SYNONYMS etat—this narration; mukunda-yaśasā—with the fame of Lord Kṛṣṇa; bhuvanam—this material world; punānam—sanctifying; deva-ṛṣi—of the great sages; varya—of the chief; mukha—from the mouth; niḥsṛtam—uttered; ātma-śaucam—purifying the heart; yaḥ—anyone who; kīrtyamānam—being chanted; adhigacchati—goes back; pārameṣṭhyam—to the spiritual world; na—never; asmin—in this; bhave—material world; bhramati—wanders; mukta—being liberated; samasta—from all; bandhaḥ—bondage. TRANSLATION This narration spoken by the great sage Nārada is full of the transcendental fame of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Consequently this narration, when described, certainly sanctifies this material world. It purifies the heart of the living entity and helps him attain his spiritual identity. One who relates this transcendental narration will be liberated from all material bondage and will no longer have to wander within this material world. PURPORT As indicated in verse 79, Nārada Muni advised King Prācīnabarhi to take to devotional service rather than waste time performing ritualistic ceremonies and fruitive activities. The vivid descriptions of the subtle and gross bodies in this chapter are most scientific, and because they are given by the great sage Nārada, they are authoritative. Because these narrations are full of the glory of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they constitute the most effective process for the purification of the mind. As Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu confirmed: ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam [Cc. Antya 20.12]. The more we talk of Kṛṣṇa, think of Kṛṣṇa and preach for Kṛṣṇa, the more we become purified. This means we no longer have to accept a hallucinatory gross and subtle body, but instead attain our spiritual identity. One who tries to understand this instructive spiritual knowledge is delivered from this ocean of nescience. The word pārameṣṭhyam is very significant in this connection. Pārameṣṭhyam is also called Brahmaloka; it is the planet on which Lord Brahmā lives. The inhabitants of Brahmaloka always discuss such narrations so that after the annihilation of the material world, they can be directly transferred to the spiritual world. One who is transferred to the spiritual world does not have to go up and down within this material world. Sometimes spiritual activities are also called pārameṣṭhyam. |
TEXT 85 ADYaaTMaPaarae+YaiMad& MaYaaiDaGaTaMad(>auTaMa( ) Wv& iñYaaé[Ma" Pau&SaiX^àae_Mau}a c Sa&XaYa" )) 85 )) adhyātma-pārokṣyam idaṁ mayādhigatam adbhutam evaṁ striyāśramaḥ puṁsaś chinno ’mutra ca saṁśayaḥ SYNONYMS adhyātma—spiritual; pārokṣyam—described by authority; idam—this; mayā—by me; adhigatam—heard; adbhutam—wonderful; evam—thus; striyā—with a wife; āśramaḥ—shelter; puṁsaḥ—of the living entity; chinnaḥ—finished; amutra—about life after death; ca—also; saṁśayaḥ—doubt. TRANSLATION The allegory of King Purañjana, described herein according to authority, was heard by me from my spiritual master, and it is full of spiritual knowledge. If one can understand the purpose of this allegory, he will certainly be relieved from the bodily conception and will clearly understand life after death. Although one may not understand what transmigration of the soul actually is, one can fully understand it by studying this narration. PURPORT The word striyā, meaning “along with the wife,” is significant. The male and female living together constitute the sum and substance of material existence. The attraction between male and female in this material world is very strong. In all species of life the attraction between male and female is the basic principle of existence. The same principle of intermingling is also in human society, but is in a regulative form. Material existence means living together as male and female and being attracted by one another. However, when one fully understands spiritual life, his attraction for the opposite sex is completely vanquished. By such attraction, one becomes overly attached to this material world. It is a hard knot within the heart. puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etaṁ tayor mitho hṛdaya-granthim āhuḥ ato gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta-vittair janasya moho ’yam ahaṁ mameti (Bhāg. 5.5.8) Everyone comes to this material world attracted to sense gratification, and the hard knot of sense gratification is the attraction between male and female. By this attraction, one becomes overly attached to the material world in terms of gṛha-kṣetra-suta-āpta-vitta—that is, home, land, children, friends, money and so forth. Thus one becomes entangled in the bodily conception of “I” and “mine.” However, if one understands the story of King Purañjana and understands how, by sexual attraction, Purañjana became a female in his next life, one will also understand the process of transmigration. SPECIAL NOTE: According to Vijayadhvaja Tīrtha, who belongs to the Madhvācārya-sampradāya, the first two of the following verses appear after verse 45 of this chapter, and the remaining two verses appear after verse 79. |
TEXT 1b >ai¢-" k*-Z<ae dYaa JaqveZvku-<#=jaNaMaaTMaiNa ) Yaid SYaadaTMaNaae >aUYaadPavGaRSTau Sa&Sa*Tae" )) 1b( )) bhaktiḥ kṛṣṇe dayā jīveṣv akuṇṭha-jñānam ātmani yadi syād ātmano bhūyād apavargas tu saṁsṛteḥ SYNONYMS bhaktiḥ—devotional service; kṛṣṇe—unto Kṛṣṇa; dayā—mercy; jīveṣu—unto other living entities; akuṇṭha-jñānam—perfect knowledge; ātmani—of the self; yadi—if; syāt—it becomes; ātmanaḥ—of one’s self; bhūyāt—there must be; apavargaḥ—liberation; tu—then; saṁsṛteḥ—from the bondage of material life. TRANSLATION If a living entity is developed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and is merciful to others, and if his spiritual knowledge of self-realization is perfect, he will immediately attain liberation from the bondage of material existence. PURPORT In this verse the words dayā jīveṣu, meaning “mercy to other living entities,” indicate that a living entity must be merciful to other living entities if he wishes to make progress in self-realization. This means he must preach this knowledge after perfecting himself and understanding his own position as an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. Preaching this is showing real mercy to living entities. Other types of humanitarian work may be temporarily beneficial for the body, but because a living entity is spirit soul, ultimately one can show him real mercy only by revealing knowledge of his spiritual existence. As Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya—kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’: [Cc. Madhya 20.108] “Every living entity is constitutionally a servant of Kṛṣṇa.” One should know this fact perfectly and should preach it to the mass of people. If one realizes that he is an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa but does not preach it, his realization is imperfect. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura therefore sings, duṣṭa mana, tumi kisera vaiṣṇava? pratiṣṭhāra tare, nirjanera ghare, tava hari-nāma kevala kaitava: “My dear mind, what kind of Vaiṣṇava are you? Simply for false prestige and a material reputation you are chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra in a solitary place.” In this way people who do not preach are criticized. There are many Vaiṣṇavas in Vṛndāvana who do not like preaching; they chiefly try to imitate Haridāsa Ṭhākura. The actual result of their so-called chanting in a secluded place, however, is that they sleep and think of women and money. Similarly, one who simply engages in temple worship but does not see to the interests of the mass of people or cannot recognize devotees is called a kaniṣṭha-adhikāri: arcāyām eva haraye pūjāṁ yaḥ śraddhayehate na tad-bhakteṣu cānyeṣu sa bhaktaḥ prākṛtaḥ smṛtaḥ (Bhāg. 11.2.47) |
TEXT 2b Ad*í& d*ívà¿ed( >aUTa& SvPanvdNYaQaa ) >aUTa& >avÙivZYaÀ Sauá& SavRrhaerh" )) 2b( )) adṛṣṭaṁ dṛṣṭavan naṅkṣed bhūtaṁ svapnavad anyathā bhūtaṁ bhavad bhaviṣyac ca suptaṁ sarva-raho-rahaḥ SYNONYMS adṛṣṭam—future happiness; dṛṣṭa-vat—like direct experience; naṅkṣet—becomes vanquished; bhūtam—the material existence; svapnavat—like a dream; anyathā—otherwise; bhūtam—which happened in the past; bhavat—present; bhaviṣyat—future; ca—also; suptam—a dream; sarva—of all; rahaḥ-rahaḥ—the secret conclusion. TRANSLATION Everything happening within time, which consists of past, present and future, is merely a dream. That is the secret understanding in all Vedic literature. PURPORT Factually all of material existence is only a dream. Thus there is no question of past, present or future. Persons who are addicted to karma-kāṇḍa-vicāra, which means “working for future happiness through fruitive activities,” are also dreaming. Similarly, past happiness and present happiness are merely dreams. The actual reality is Kṛṣṇa and service to Kṛṣṇa, which can save us from the clutches of māyā, for the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (7.14), mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te: “Those who surrender unto Me can easily cross beyond My illusory energy.” Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Fourth Canto, Twenty-ninth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “Talks Between Nārada and King Prācīnabarhi.” |
TEXT 1 ivdur ovac Yae TvYaai>aihTaa b]øNa( SauTaa" Pa[acqNabihRz" ) Tae åd]GaqTaeNa hir& iSaiÖMaaPau" Pa[TaaeZYa k-aMa( )) 1 )) vidura uvāca ye tvayābhihitā brahman sutāḥ prācīnabarhiṣaḥ te rudra-gītena hariṁ siddhim āpuḥ pratoṣya kām SYNONYMS viduraḥ uvāca—Vidura said; ye—those who; tvayā—by you; abhihitāḥ—were spoken about; brahman—O brāhmaṇa; sutāḥ—sons; prācīnabarhiṣaḥ—of King Prācīnabarhi; te—all of them; rudra-gītena—by the song composed by Lord Śiva; harim—the Lord; siddhim—success; āpuḥ—achieved; pratoṣya—having satisfied; kām—what. TRANSLATION Vidura inquired from Maitreya: O brāhmaṇa, you formerly spoke about the sons of Prācīnabarhi and informed me that they satisfied the Supreme Personality of Godhead by chanting a song composed by Lord Śiva. What did they achieve in this way? PURPORT In the beginning, Maitreya Ṛṣi narrated the activities of the sons of Prācīnabarhi. These sons went beside a great lake, which was like an ocean, and fortunately finding Lord Śiva, they learned how to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead by chanting the songs composed by Lord Śiva. Now their father’s attachment for fruitive activities was disapproved by Nārada, who therefore kindly instructed Prācīnabarhi by telling him the allegorical story of Purañjana. Now Vidura again wanted to hear about Prācīnabarhi’s sons, and he was especially inquisitive to know what they achieved by satisfying the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Here the words siddhim āpuḥ, or “achieved perfection,” are very important. Lord Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (7.3), manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye: out of many, many millions of people, one may be interested in learning how to attain success in spiritual matters. The supreme success is mentioned also in Bhagavad-gītā (8.15): mām upetya punar janma duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam nāpnuvanti mahātmānaḥ saṁsiddhiṁ paramāṁ gatāḥ “After attaining Me, the great souls, who are yogīs in devotion, never return to this temporary world, which is full of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection.” And what is that highest perfection? That is also explained in that verse. The highest perfection is to return home, back to Godhead, so that one will not have to return to this material world and transmigrate from one body to another in the dream of material existence. By the grace of Lord Śiva, the Pracetās actually attained perfection and returned home, back to Godhead, after enjoying material facilities to the highest extent. Maitreya will now narrate that to Vidura. |
SauPa<aRSk-NDaMaaæ!ae Maeåé*(r)iMavaMbud" ) PaqTavaSaa Mai<aGa]qv" ku-vRNa( iviTaiMara idXa" )) 5 )) suparṇa-skandham ārūḍho meru-śṛṅgam ivāmbudaḥ pīta-vāsā maṇi-grīvaḥ kurvan vitimirā diśaḥ SYNONYMS suparṇa—of Garuḍa, the carrier of Lord Viṣṇu; skandham—the shoulder; ārūḍhaḥ—sitting on; meru—of the mountain named Meru; śṛṅgam—on the summit; iva—like; ambudaḥ—a cloud; pīta-vāsāḥ—wearing yellow garments; maṇi-grīvaḥ—His neck decorated with the Kaustubha jewel; kurvan—making; vitimirāḥ—free from darkness; diśaḥ—all directions. TRANSLATION The Personality of Godhead, appearing on the shoulder of Garuḍa, seemed like a cloud resting on the summit of the mountain known as Meru. The transcendental body of the Personality of Godhead was covered by attractive yellow garments, and His neck was decorated with the jewel known as Kaustubha-maṇi. The bodily effulgence of the Lord dissipated all the darkness of the universe. PURPORT kṛṣṇa——sūrya-sama; māyā haya andhakāra yāhāṅ kṛṣṇa, tāhāṅ nāhi māyāra adhikāra The Lord is just like the effulgent sun. Consequently, whenever the Supreme Personality of Godhead is present, there cannot be darkness or ignorance. Actually this dark universe is illuminated by the sun, but the sun and moon simply reflect the bodily effulgence of the Supreme Lord. In Bhagavad-gītā (7.8) the Lord says, prabhāsmi śaśi-sūryayoḥ: “I am the illuminating energy of both the sun and the moon.” The conclusion is that the origin of all life is the bodily effulgence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is also confirmed in Brahma-saṁhitā: yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi [Bs. 5.40]. Being illuminated by the bodily effulgence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, everything is freed from all darkness. |
PaqNaaYaTaaí>auJaMa<@l/MaDYal/+MYaa SPaDaRiC^\Yaa Pairv*Taae vNaMaal/YaaÛ" ) bihRZMaTa" Pauåz Aah SauTaaNa( Pa[PaàaNa( PaJaRNYaNaadåTaYaa Saga*<aavl/aek-" )) 7 )) pīnāyatāṣṭa-bhuja-maṇḍala-madhya-lakṣmyā spardhac-chriyā parivṛto vana-mālayādyaḥ barhiṣmataḥ puruṣa āha sutān prapannān parjanya-nāda-rutayā saghṛṇāvalokaḥ SYNONYMS pīna—stout; āyata—long; aṣṭa—eight; bhuja—arms; maṇḍala—encirclement; madhya—in the midst of; lakṣmyā—with the goddess of fortune; spardhat—contending; śriyā—whose beauty; parivṛtaḥ—encircled; vana-mālayā—by a flower garland; ādyaḥ—the original Personality of Godhead; barhiṣmataḥ—of King Prācīnabarhi; puruṣaḥ—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; āha—addressed; sutān—the sons; prapannān—surrendered; parjanya—like a cloud; nāda—whose sound; rutayā—by a voice; sa-ghṛṇa—with mercy; avalokaḥ—His glancing. TRANSLATION Around the neck of the Personality of Godhead hung a flower garland that reached to His knees. His eight stout and elongated arms were decorated with that garland, which challenged the beauty of the goddess of fortune. With a merciful glance and a voice like thunder, the Lord addressed the sons of King Prācīnabarhiṣat, who were very much surrendered unto Him. PURPORT The word ādyaḥ in this verse is very significant. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the origin even of Paramātmā and Brahman. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (14.27), brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham: the Absolute Truth begins not with the impersonal Brahman but with the original Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. When Arjuna realized Kṛṣṇa’s greatness, he addressed Him in this way: paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān puruṣaṁ śāśvataṁ divyam ādi-devam ajaṁ vibhum “You are the Supreme Brahman, the ultimate, the supreme abode and purifier, the Absolute Truth and the eternal divine person. You are the primal God, transcendental and original, and You are the unborn and all-pervading beauty.” (Bg. 10.12) The Brahma-saṁhitā also says, anādir ādir govindaḥ sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam: [Bs. 5.1] “The Supreme Lord is not caused by anything [anādi], but He is the cause of all causes.” The Vedānta-sūtra says, janmādy asya yataḥ: [SB 1.1.1] “The Absolute Truth is that from which everything emanates.” The Absolute Truth is described as ādi-puruṣa. The Absolute Truth is therefore a person and is not impersonal. |
TEXT 10 Yae Tau Maa& åd]GaqTaeNa SaaYa& Pa[aTa" SaMaaihTaa" ) STauvNTYah& k-aMavraNdaSYae Pa[ja& c Xaae>aNaaMa( )) 10 )) ye tu māṁ rudra-gītena sāyaṁ prātaḥ samāhitāḥ stuvanty ahaṁ kāma-varān dāsye prajñāṁ ca śobhanām SYNONYMS ye—those persons who; tu—but; mām—unto Me; rudra-gītena—by the song sung by Lord Śiva; sāyam—in the evening; prātaḥ—in the morning; samāhitāḥ—being attentive; stuvanti—offer prayers; aham—I; kāma-varān—all benedictions to fulfill desires; dāsye—shall award; prajñām—intelligence; ca—also; śobhanām—transcendental. TRANSLATION Those who will offer Me the prayers composed by Lord Śiva, both in the morning and in the evening, will be given benedictions by Me. In this way they can both fulfill their desires and attain good intelligence. PURPORT Good intelligence means going back home, back to Godhead. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (10.10): teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ yena mām upayānti te “To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.” One who offers prayers to the Lord to fulfill his different desires must know that the highest perfectional fulfillment of desire is to go back home, back to Godhead. In this verse it is indicated that those who remember the activities of the Pracetās, the sons of King Prācīnabarhiṣat, will be delivered and blessed. So what to speak of the sons of King Prācīnabarhiṣat, who are directly connected with the Supreme Personality of Godhead? This is the way of the paramparā system. If we follow the ācāryas, we attain the same benefit as our predecessors. If one follows the decisions of Arjuna, he should be considered to be directly hearing Bhagavad-gītā from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There is no difference between hearing Bhagavad-gītā directly from the Supreme Lord and following a personality like Arjuna, who formerly heard Bhagavad-gītā directly from the Lord. Sometimes foolish people argue that since Kṛṣṇa is not present at the moment, one cannot take direct instructions from Him. Such foolish people do not know that there is no difference between directly hearing Bhagavad-gītā and reading it, as long as one accepts Bhagavad-gītā as it is, spoken by the Lord. However, if one wants to understand Bhagavad-gītā by his imperfect interpretations, one cannot possibly understand the mysteries of Bhagavad-gītā, even though one may be a great scholar according to mundane estimation. |
TEXT 16 APa*QaGDaMaRXaql/aNaa& SaveRza& v" SauMaDYaMaa ) APa*QaGDaMaRXaqle/Ya& >aUYaaTPaTNYaiPaRTaaXaYaa )) 16 )) apṛthag-dharma-śīlānāṁ sarveṣāṁ vaḥ sumadhyamā apṛthag-dharma-śīleyaṁ bhūyāt patny arpitāśayā SYNONYMS apṛthak—without differences; dharma—occupation; śīlānām—whose character; sarveṣām—all; vaḥ—of you; su-madhyamā—a girl whose waist is slender; apṛthak—without differences; dharma—occupation; śīlā—well-behaved; iyam—this; bhūyāt—may she become; patnī—wife; arpita-āśayā—fully surrendered. TRANSLATION You brothers are all of the same nature, being devotees and obedient sons of your father. Similarly, that girl is also of the same type and is dedicated to all of you. Thus both the girl and you, the sons of Prācīnabarhiṣat, are on the same platform, being united on a common principle. PURPORT According to Vedic principles, a woman cannot have many husbands, although a husband can have many wives. In special instances, however, it is found that a woman has more than one husband. Draupadī, for instance, was married to all of the five Pāṇḍava brothers. Similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead ordered all the sons of Prācīnabarhiṣat to marry the one girl born of the great sage Kaṇḍu and Pramlocā. In special cases, a girl is allowed to marry more than one man, provided she is able to treat her husbands equally. This is not possible for an ordinary woman. Only one who is especially qualified can be allowed to marry more than one husband. In this age of Kali, to find such an equipoised woman is very difficult. Thus according to scripture, kalau pañca vivarjayet. In this age a woman is forbidden to marry her husband’s brother. This system is still practiced in some of the hilly tracts of India. The Lord says: apṛthag-dharma-śīleyaṁ bhūyāt patny arpitāśayā. With the blessings of the Lord, all things are possible. The Lord especially blessed the girl to surrender equally to all brothers. Apṛthag-dharma, meaning “occupational duty without difference of purpose,” is taught in Bhagavad-gītā. Bhagavad-gītā is divided into three primary divisions—karma-yoga, jñāna-yoga and bhakti-yoga. The word yoga means “acting on behalf of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” As confirmed by Bhagavad-gītā (3.9): yajñārthāt karmaṇo ’nyatra loko ’yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ tad-arthaṁ karma kaunteya mukta-saṅgaḥ samācara “Work done as a sacrifice for Viṣṇu has to be performed, otherwise work binds one to this material world. Therefore, O son of Kuntī, perform your prescribed duties for His satisfaction, and in that way you will always remain unattached and free from bondage.” One may act according to his own occupational duty just to satisfy the yajña-puruṣa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is called apṛthag-dharma. Different limbs of the body may act in different ways, but the ultimate objective is to maintain the entire body. Similarly, if we work for the satisfaction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we will find that we satisfy everything. We should follow in the footsteps of the Pracetās, whose only aim was to satisfy the Supreme Lord. This is called apṛthag-dharma. According to Bhagavad-gītā (18.66), sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja: “Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me.” This is the advice of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Our only aim should be to act in Kṛṣṇa consciousness for the satisfaction of the Lord. This is oneness, or apṛthag-dharma. |
TEXT 18 AQa MaYYaNaPaaiYaNYaa >a¢-ya PaKvGau<aaXaYaa" ) oPaYaaSYaQa MaÖaMa iNaivRÛ iNarYaadTa" )) 18 )) atha mayy anapāyinyā bhaktyā pakva-guṇāśayāḥ upayāsyatha mad-dhāma nirvidya nirayād ataḥ SYNONYMS atha—therefore; mayi—unto Me; anapāyinyā—without any deviation; bhaktyā—by devotional service; pakva-guṇa—free from material contamination; āśayāḥ—your mind; upayāsyatha—you will attain; mat-dhāma—My abode; nirvidya—being completely detached; nirayāt—from material existence; ataḥ—thus. TRANSLATION Thereafter you will develop unadulterated devotional service unto Me and be freed from all material contamination. At that time, being completely unattached to material enjoyment in the so-called heavenly planets as well as in hellish planets, you will return home, back to Godhead. PURPORT By the grace of the Lord, the Pracetās were given special facilities. Although they could live millions of years to enjoy material facilities, they still would not be deviated from the transcendental loving service of the Lord. Being thus fully engaged, the Pracetās would be completely freed from all material attachment. Material attachment is very strong. During one lifetime, a materialist engages in acquiring land, money, friends, society, friendship, love and so on. He also wants to enjoy the heavenly planets after the annihilation of the body. If one is engaged in devotional service, however, he becomes unattached to all kinds of material enjoyment and suffering. In the material world, those who are elevated to the higher planetary systems are supposed to enjoy all material facilities, whereas those degraded to lower planetary systems are supposed to live in a hellish condition. A devotee, however, is transcendental to both heavenly and hellish conditions. According to Bhagavad-gītā (14.26), a devotee’s position is described in this way: māṁ ca yo ’vyabhicāreṇa bhakti-yogena sevate sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate “One who engages in full devotional service, who does not fall down in any circumstance, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman.” A devotee is always situated on the Brahman platform. He has nothing to do with material happiness or distress. When one is strongly fixed in devotional service and free from all material attachment, uncontaminated by the material modes of nature, he becomes fit to return home, back to Godhead. Although by special blessing the Pracetās would enjoy material facilities for millions of years, they would not be attached to them. Thus at the end of their material enjoyment they would be promoted to the spiritual world and return to Godhead. The word pakva-guṇāśayāḥ has special significance, for it means that by devotional service one is able to give up the influence of the three modes of material nature. As long as one is influenced by the modes of material nature, he cannot return to Godhead. It is clearly explained that all planets in the material world—beginning from Brahmaloka down to the hellish planets—are unfit places for a devotee. padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadāṁ na teṣām. A place where there is danger at every step is certainly not a comfortable place. The Lord therefore says in Bhagavad-gītā (8.16): ābrahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino ’rjuna mām upetya tu kaunteya punar janma na vidyate “From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kuntī, never takes birth again.” Thus there is no profit, even if one is promoted to the highest planet in the material universe, Brahmaloka. However, if one is somehow or other promoted to the abode of the Lord, he never returns to the material world. |
TEXT 19 Ga*heZvaivXaTaa& caiPa Pau&Saa& ku-Xal/k-MaR<aaMa( ) MaÜaTaaRYaaTaYaaMaaNaa& Na bNDaaYa Ga*ha MaTaa" )) 19 )) gṛheṣv āviśatāṁ cāpi puṁsāṁ kuśala-karmaṇām mad-vārtā-yāta-yāmānāṁ na bandhāya gṛhā matāḥ SYNONYMS gṛheṣu—in family life; āviśatām—who have entered; ca—also; api—even; puṁsām—of persons; kuśala-karmaṇām—engaged in auspicious activities; mat-vārtā—in topics about Me; yāta—is expended; yāmānām—whose every moment; na—not; bandhāya—for bondage; gṛhāḥ—household life; matāḥ—considered. TRANSLATION Those who are engaged in auspicious activities in devotional service certainly understand that the ultimate enjoyer or beneficiary of all activities is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus when one acts, he offers the results to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and passes life always engaged in the topics of the Lord. Even though such a person may be participating in family life, he is not affected by the results of his actions. PURPORT Generally a person living in a family becomes overly attached to fruitive activity. In other words, he tries to enjoy the results of his activities. A devotee, however, knows that Kṛṣṇa is the supreme enjoyer and the supreme proprietor (bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram [Bg. 5.29]). Consequently, the devotee does not consider himself the proprietor of any occupation. The devotee always thinks of the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the proprietor; therefore the results of his business are offered to the Supreme Lord. One who thus lives in the material world with his family and children never becomes affected by the contaminations of the material world. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (3.9): yajñārthāt karmaṇo ’nyatra loko ’yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ tad-arthaṁ karma kaunteya mukta-saṅgaḥ samācara One who tries to enjoy the results of his activities becomes bound by the results. One who offers the results or profits to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, however, does not become entangled in the results. This is the secret of success. Generally people take sannyāsa to become free from the reactions of fruitive activity. One who does not receive the results of his actions but offers them instead to the Supreme Personality of Godhead certainly remains in a liberated condition. In Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī confirms this: īhā yasya harer dāsye karmaṇā manasā girā nikhilāsv apy avasthāsu jīvan-muktaḥ sa ucyate If one engages himself in the service of the Lord through his life, wealth, words, intelligence and everything he possesses, he will always be liberated in any condition. Such a person is called a jīvan-mukta, one who is liberated during this lifetime. Devoid of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, those who engage in material activities simply become more entangled in material bondage. They have to suffer and enjoy the actions and reactions of all activity. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is therefore the greatest boon to humanity because it keeps one always engaged in Kṛṣṇa’s service. The devotees think of Kṛṣṇa, act for Kṛṣṇa, eat for Kṛṣṇa, sleep for Kṛṣṇa and work for Kṛṣṇa. Thus everything is engaged in the service of Kṛṣṇa. A total life in Kṛṣṇa consciousness saves one from material contamination. As stated by Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Mahārāja: kṛṣṇa-bhajane yāhā haya anukūla viṣaya baliyā tyāge tāhā haya bhūla If one is so expert that he can engage everything or dovetail everything in the service of the Lord, to give up the material world would be a great blunder. One should learn how to dovetail everything in the service of the Lord, for everything is connected to Kṛṣṇa. That is the real purpose of life and secret of success. As reiterated later in the Third Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā (3.19): tasmād asaktaḥ satataṁ kāryaṁ karma samācara asakto hy ācaran karma param āpnoti pūruṣaḥ “Therefore, without being attached to the fruits of activities, one should act as a matter of duty; for by working without attachment, one attains the Supreme.” The Third Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā specifically considers material activities for the purpose of sense gratification and material activities for the purpose of satisfying the Supreme Lord. The conclusion is that these are not one and the same. Material activities for sense gratification are the cause of material bondage, whereas the very same activities for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa are the cause of liberation. How the same activity can be the cause of bondage and liberation can be explained as follows. One may get indigestion due to eating too many milk preparations—condensed milk, sweet rice, and so on. But even though there is indigestion or diarrhea, another milk preparation—yogurt mixed with black pepper and salt—will immediately cure these maladies. In other words, one milk preparation can cause indigestion and diarrhea, and another milk preparation can cure them. If one is placed in material opulence due to the special mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he should not consider that opulence a cause for bondage. When a mature devotee is blessed with material opulence, he does not become affected adversely, for he knows how to employ material opulence in the service of the Lord. There are many such examples in the history of the world. There were kings like Pṛthu Mahārāja, Prahlāda Mahārāja, Janaka, Dhruva, Vaivasvata Manu and Mahārāja Ikṣvāku. All of these were great kings and were especially favored by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If a devotee is not mature, the Supreme Lord will take away all his opulence. This principle is stated by the Supreme Personality of Godhead—yasyāham anugṛhṇāmi hariṣye tad-dhanaṁ śanaiḥ: “My first mercy shown to My devotee is to take away all his material opulence.” Material opulence detrimental to devotional service is taken away by the Supreme Lord, whereas a person who is mature in devotional service is given all material facilities. |
NaVYavd(Da*dYae YaJjae b]øETad(b]øvaidi>a" ) Na MauùiNTa Na XaaeciNTa Na ôZYaiNTa YaTaae GaTaa" )) 20 )) navyavad dhṛdaye yaj jño brahmaitad brahma-vādibhiḥ na muhyanti na śocanti na hṛṣyanti yato gatāḥ SYNONYMS navya-vat—ever-increasingly fresh; hṛdaye—in the heart; yat—as; jñaḥ—the supreme knower, Paramātmā; brahma—Brahman; etat—this; brahma-vādibhiḥ—by the advocates of the Absolute Truth; na—never; muhyanti—are bewildered; na—never; śocanti—lament; na—never; hṛṣyanti—are jubilant; yataḥ—when; gatāḥ—have attained. TRANSLATION Always engaging in the activities of devotional service, devotees feel ever-increasingly fresh and new in all their activities. The all-knower, the Supersoul within the heart of the devotee, makes everything increasingly fresh. This is known as the Brahman position by the advocates of the Absolute Truth. In such a liberated stage [brahma-bhūta], one is never bewildered. Nor does one lament or become unnecessarily jubilant. This is due to the brahma-bhūta situation. PURPORT A devotee is inspired by the Supersoul within the heart to advance in devotional service in a variety of ways. The devotee does not feel hackneyed or stereotyped, nor does he feel that he is in a stagnant position. In the material world, if one engages in chanting a material name, he will feel tired after chanting a few times. However, one can chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra all day and night and never feel tired. As chanting is increased, it will come out new and fresh. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī said that if he could somehow get millions of ears and tongues, then he could relish spiritual bliss by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. There is really nothing uninspiring for a highly advanced devotee. In Bhagavad-gītā the Lord says that He is situated in everyone’s heart and that He helps the living entity forget and remember. By the grace of the Lord, the devotee gets inspiration. teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ yena mām upayānti te “To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.” (Bg. 10.10) As stated (kuśala-karmaṇām), those engaged in auspicious activities in devotional service are guided by the Supersoul, described in this verse as jña, one who knows everything, past, present and future. The Supersoul gives instructions to the sincere, unalloyed devotee on how he can progress more and more in approaching the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī in this connection says that the Supersoul, the plenary expansion of the Personality of Godhead, exists in everyone’s heart, but in the heart of the devotee He reveals Himself as ever-increasingly new. Being inspired by Him, the devotee experiences increased transcendental bliss in the execution of his devotional service. |
TEXT 21 MaE}aeYa ovac Wv& b]uva<a& PauåzaQaR>aaJaNa& JaNaadRNa& Pa[aÅl/Ya" Pa[ceTaSa" ) TaÕXaRNaßSTaTaMaaerJaaeMal/a iGaraGa*<aNa( GaÓdYaa SauôtaMaMa( )) 21 )) maitreya uvāca evaṁ bruvāṇaṁ puruṣārtha-bhājanaṁ janārdanaṁ prāñjalayaḥ pracetasaḥ tad-darśana-dhvasta-tamo-rajo-malā girāgṛṇan gadgadayā suhṛttamam SYNONYMS maitreyaḥ uvāca—Maitreya said; evam—thus; bruvāṇam—speaking; puruṣa-artha—of the ultimate goal of life; bhājanam—the bestower; jana-ardanam—who takes away all the disadvantages of the devotee; prāñjalayaḥ—with folded hands; pracetasaḥ—the Pracetā brothers; tat—Him; darśana—by seeing; dhvasta—dissipated; tamaḥ—of darkness; rajaḥ—of passion; malāḥ—whose contamination; girā—with a voice; agṛṇan—offered prayers; gadgadayā—faltering; suhṛt-tamam—unto the greatest of all friends. TRANSLATION The great sage Maitreya said: After the Personality of Godhead spoke thus, the Pracetās began to offer Him prayers. The Lord is the bestower of all success in life and is the supreme benefactor. He is also the supreme friend who takes away all miserable conditions experienced by a devotee. In a faltering voice, due to ecstasy, the Pracetās began to offer prayers. They were purified by the presence of the Lord, who was before them face to face. PURPORT The Lord is herein described as puruṣārtha-bhājanam (the bestower of the ultimate goal of life). Whatever success we want in life can be attained by the mercy of the Lord. Since the Pracetās had already attained the Lord’s mercy, they were no longer subject to the contamination of the material modes. The material modes dissipated from them just as the darkness of night immediately dissipates when the sun rises. Because the Lord appeared before them, naturally all the contaminations of the material qualities of rajas and tamas completely disappeared. Similarly, when an unalloyed devotee chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, he is also purified of all material contamination because the name of the Lord and the Lord are identical. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.17): śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ hṛdy antaḥ-stho hy abhadrāṇi vidhunoti suhṛt satām “Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, who is the Paramātmā [Supersoul] in everyone’s heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses desire for material enjoyment from the heart of the devotee who has developed the urge to hear His messages, which are in themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted.” The holy name of the Lord is the Lord Himself. If one chants and hears, he becomes purified. Gradually all material contamination disappears. The Pracetās were already purified due to the Lord’s presence before them, and they could therefore offer the proper prayers with folded hands. In other words, as soon as devotees are engaged in devotional service, they become transcendental to all material contamination immediately, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate [Bg. 14.26]). Sometimes the devotees are dissatisfied due to their not seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead personally. When the Pracetās saw the Supreme Lord personally present, their unhappiness vanished. |
Pa[ceTaSa Ocu" NaMaae NaMa" (c)e-XaivNaaXaNaaYa iNaæiPaTaaedarGau<aaûYaaYa ) MaNaaevcaeveGaPauraeJavaYa SavaR+aMaaGaOErGaTaaßNae NaMa" )) 22 )) pracetasa ūcuḥ namo namaḥ kleśa-vināśanāya nirūpitodāra-guṇāhvayāya mano-vaco-vega-puro-javāya sarvākṣa-mārgair agatādhvane namaḥ SYNONYMS pracetasaḥ ūcuḥ—the Pracetās said; namaḥ—obeisances; namaḥ—obeisances; kleśa—material distress; vināśanāya—unto one who destroys; nirūpita—settled; udāra—magnanimous; guṇa—qualities; āhvayāya—whose name; manaḥ—of the mind; vacaḥ—of speech; vega—the speed; puraḥ—before; javāya—whose speed; sarva-akṣa—of all material senses; mārgaiḥ—by the paths; agata—not perceivable; adhvane—whose course; namaḥ—we offer our respects. TRANSLATION The Pracetās spoke as follows: Dear Lord, You relieve all kinds of material distress. Your magnanimous transcendental qualities and holy name are all-auspicious. This conclusion is already settled. You can go faster than the speed of mind and words. You cannot be perceived by material senses. We therefore offer You respectful obeisances again and again. PURPORT The word nirūpita, meaning “concluded,” is very significant in this verse. No one has to conduct research work to find God or make progress in spiritual knowledge. Everything is conclusively there in the Vedas. Therefore the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15), vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ: understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead through the process of the Vedas is perfect and conclusive. The Vedas state, ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ: [BRS. ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ “No one can understand the transcendental nature of the name, form, quality and pastimes of Śrī Kṛṣṇa through his materially contaminated senses. Only when one becomes spiritually saturated by transcendental service to the Lord are the transcendental name, form, quality and pastimes of the Lord revealed to him.” (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.234) |
NaMaae ivéuÖSatvaYa hrYae hirMaeDaSae ) vaSaudevaYa k*-Z<aaYa Pa[>ave SavRSaaTvTaaMa( )) 24 )) namo viśuddha-sattvāya haraye hari-medhase vāsudevāya kṛṣṇāya prabhave sarva-sātvatām SYNONYMS namaḥ—obeisances; viśuddha-sattvāya—unto You, whose existence is free from all material influence; haraye—who takes away all miserable conditions of devotees; hari-medhase—whose brain works only for the deliverance of the conditioned soul; vāsudevāya—the all-pervading Supreme Personality of Godhead; kṛṣṇāya—unto Kṛṣṇa; prabhave—who increases the influence; sarva-sātvatām—of all kinds of devotees. TRANSLATION Dear Lord, we offer our respectful obeisances unto You because Your existence is completely independent of all material influences. Your Lordship always takes away the devotee’s miserable conditions, for Your brain plans how to do so. You live everywhere as Paramātmā; therefore You are known as Vāsudeva. You also accept Vasudeva as Your father, and You are celebrated by the name Kṛṣṇa. You are so kind that You always increase the influence of all kinds of devotees. PURPORT In the previous verse it has been said (gṛhīta-māyā-guṇa-vigrahāya) that the Lord accepts three kinds of bodies (Viṣṇu, Brahmā and Śiva) for the purposes of creating, maintaining and annihilating the cosmic manifestation. The three predominating deities of the material universe (Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva) are called guṇa-avatāras. There are many kinds of incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the first incarnations within this material world are Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Maheśvara (Śiva). Out of these three, Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva accept material bodies, but Lord Viṣṇu does not accept a material body. Lord Viṣṇu is therefore known as viśuddha-sattva. His existence is completely free from the contamination of the material modes of nature. One should therefore not think that Lord Viṣṇu is in the same category with Lord Brahmā and Śiva. The śāstras forbid us to think in this way. yas tu nārāyaṇaṁ devaṁ brahma-rudrādi-daivataiḥ samatvenaiva vīkṣeta sa pāṣaṇḍī bhaved dhruvam One who considers Lord Viṣṇu to be in the same category with devas like Lord Brahmā or Lord Śiva or who thinks Lord Brahmā and Śiva to be equal to Lord Viṣṇu is to be considered as pāṣaṇḍī (a faithless nonbeliever). Therefore in this verse Lord Viṣṇu is distinguished in the words namo viśuddha-sattvāya. Although a living entity like us, Lord Brahmā is exalted due to his pious activities; therefore he is given the high post of Brahmā. Lord Śiva is not actually like a living entity, but he is not the Supreme Personality of Godhead. His position is somewhere between Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and Brahmā, the living entity. Lord Śiva is therefore explained in Brahma-saṁhitā (5.45) in this way: kṣīraṁ yathā dadhi vikāra-viśeṣa-yogāt sañjāyate na hi tataḥ pṛthag asti hetoḥ yaḥ śambhutām api tathā samupaiti kāryād govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi Lord Śiva is considered to be like yogurt (dadhi). Yogurt is nothing but transformed milk; nonetheless, yogurt cannot be accepted as milk. Similarly, Lord Śiva holds almost all the powers of Lord Viṣṇu, and he is also above the qualities of the living entity, but he is not exactly like Viṣṇu, just as yogurt, although transformed milk, is not exactly like milk. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is also described herein as vāsudevāya kṛṣṇāya. Kṛṣṇa is the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, and all Viṣṇu expansions are His plenary portions or portions of His plenary portions (known as svāṁśa and kalā). The svāṁśa, or direct expansion, is also called aṁśa. All viṣṇu-tattvas are svāṁśa, direct parts and parcels of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is known as Vāsudeva because He appeared in this material world as the son of Vasudeva. Similarly, He is known as Devakī-nandana, Yaśodā-nandana, Nanda-nandana and so on. Again and again the Lord is very much interested in increasing the influence of His devotees. Therefore He is described herein as prabhave sarva-sātvatām. The sātvata community is a community of Vaiṣṇavas, pure devotees of the Lord. The Supreme Personality of Godhead has unlimited powers, and He wants to see that His devotees are also entrusted with unlimited powers. A devotee of the Lord is always, therefore, distinguished from all other living entities. The word hari means “one who takes away all miserable conditions,” and hari-medhase means that the Lord is always planning ways to deliver the conditioned soul from the clutches of māyā. The Lord is so kind that He personally incarnates to deliver the conditioned souls, and whenever He comes, He makes His plans. paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge “To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium.” (Bg. 4.8) Since the Lord delivers all conditioned souls from the clutches of māyā, He is known as hari-medhas. In the list of incarnations, Kṛṣṇa is described as the supreme and original Personality of Godhead. ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam indrāri-vyākulaṁ lokaṁ mṛḍayanti yuge yuge (Bhāg. 1.3.28) Kṛṣṇa, the original Personality of Godhead, appears in this material world when the demigods, who are devotees of the Lord, are disturbed by the demons. |
TEXT 25 NaMa" k-Mal/Naa>aaYa NaMa" k-Mal/Maail/Nae ) NaMa" k-Mal/PaadaYa NaMaSTae k-Male/+a<a )) 25 )) namaḥ kamala-nābhāya namaḥ kamala-māline namaḥ kamala-pādāya namas te kamalekṣaṇa SYNONYMS namaḥ—we offer our respectful obeisances; kamala-nābhāya—unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, from whose abdomen the original lotus flower originated; namaḥ—obeisances; kamala-māline—who is always decorated with a garland of lotus flowers; namaḥ—obeisances; kamala-pādāya—whose feet are as beautiful and fragrant as the lotus flower; namaḥ te—obeisances unto You; kamala-īkṣaṇa—whose eyes are exactly like the petals of the lotus flower. TRANSLATION Dear Lord, we offer our respectful obeisances unto You because from Your abdomen sprouts the lotus flower, the origin of all living entities. You are always decorated with a lotus garland, and Your feet resemble the lotus flower with all its fragrance. Your eyes are also like the petals of a lotus flower. Therefore we always offer our respectful obeisances unto You. PURPORT The word kamala-nābhāya indicates that Lord Viṣṇu is the origin of the material creation. From the abdomen of Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, a lotus flower sprouts. Lord Brahmā, the first creature of the universe, is born from this lotus flower, and subsequently, Lord Brahmā creates the whole universe. The origin of all creation is therefore Lord Viṣṇu, and the origin of all the viṣṇu-tattvas is Lord Kṛṣṇa. Consequently, Kṛṣṇa is the origin of everything. This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (10.8): ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate iti matvā bhajante māṁ budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ “I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.” Lord Kṛṣṇa says: “I am the origin of everything.” Therefore whatever we see emanates from Him. This is also confirmed in the Vedānta-sūtra. Janmādy asya yataḥ: [SB 1.1.1] “The Absolute Truth is He from whom everything emanates.” |
NaMa" k-Mal/ik-ÅLk-iPaXa(r)aMal/vaSaSae ) SavR>aUTaiNavaSaaYa NaMaae_Yau&+Maih Saai+a<ae )) 26 )) namaḥ kamala-kiñjalka- piśaṅgāmala-vāsase sarva-bhūta-nivāsāya namo ’yuṅkṣmahi sākṣiṇe SYNONYMS namaḥ—obeisances; kamala-kiñjalka—like the saffron in a lotus flower; piśaṅga—yellowish; amala—spotless; vāsase—unto Him whose garment; sarva-bhūta—of all living entities; nivāsāya—the shelter; namaḥ—obeisances; ayuṅkṣmahi—let us offer; sākṣiṇe—unto the supreme witness. TRANSLATION Dear Lord, the garment You have put on is yellowish in color, like the saffron of a lotus flower, but it is not made of anything material. Since You live in everyone’s heart, You are the direct witness of all the activities of all living entities. We offer our respectful obeisances unto You again and again. PURPORT In this verse the dress of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His all-pervasive nature are described. The Lord puts on a dress that is yellow, but such a garment is never to be considered material. The garments of the Lord are also the Lord. They are nondifferent from the Lord because they are spiritual in nature. The word sarva-bhūta-nivāsāya further clarifies how Lord Viṣṇu lives in everyone’s heart and acts as the direct witness of all the activities of the conditioned soul. Within this material world the conditioned soul has desires and acts in accordance with these desires. All these acts are observed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15): sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca “I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness.” The Lord is present in everyone’s heart, and He gives the living entity intelligence. According to the desires of the living entity, the Lord makes him remember or forget. If the living entity is demoniac and wants to forget the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Lord gives him the intelligence to be able to forget the Supreme Lord forever. Similarly, when a devotee wants to serve the Supreme Lord, the Lord, as Paramātmā, gives the devotee the intelligence to make progress in devotional service. The Lord directly witnesses our activities and experiences our desires. The Supreme Lord gives us the facilities to act in the way we wish. |
TEXT 27 æPa& >aGavTaa TveTadXaez(c)e-XaSax(+aYaMa( ) AaivZk*-Ta& Na" i(c)-íaNaa& ik-MaNYadNauk-iMPaTaMa( )) 27 )) rūpaṁ bhagavatā tv etad aśeṣa-kleśa-saṅkṣayam āviṣkṛtaṁ naḥ kliṣṭānāṁ kim anyad anukampitam SYNONYMS rūpam—form; bhagavatā—by Your Lordship; tu—but; etat—this; aśeṣa—unlimited; kleśa—miseries; saṅkṣayam—which dissipates; āviṣkṛtam—revealed; naḥ—of us; kliṣṭānām—who are suffering from material conditions; kim anyat—what to speak of; anukampitam—those to whom You are always favorably disposed. TRANSLATION Dear Lord, we conditioned souls are always covered by ignorance in the bodily conception of life. We therefore always prefer the miserable conditions of material existence. To deliver us from these miserable conditions, You have advented Yourself in this transcendental form. This is evidence of Your unlimited causeless mercy upon those of us who are suffering in this way. What, then, to speak of the devotees to whom You are always so favorably disposed? PURPORT When the Lord appears in His original form, He acts to deliver the pious and annihilate the miscreants (Bg. 4.8). Although He annihilates the demons, He nonetheless benefits them. It is said that all the living entities who died on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra attained their original constitutional position (svarūpa) because they had the chance to see Kṛṣṇa face to face riding in the chariot of Arjuna. On the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra, superficially two things were going on—the demons were being killed, and the devotee, Arjuna, was being protected. However, the results were the same for everyone. Thus it is said that the appearance of the Lord diminishes all kinds of miserable conditions caused by material existence. It is clearly stated in this verse that this form (aśeṣa-kleśa-saṅkṣayam) is meant to diminish all the miserable conditions experienced in life not only by the devotees but by all others. Āviṣkṛtaṁ naḥ kliṣṭānām. The Pracetās identified themselves as common men. Kim anyad anukampitam. The devotees are always favorably accepted by the Lord. The Lord shows all mercy not only to conditioned souls but also to the devotees, who are already liberated due to their devotional service. The form of the Lord as worshiped in the temples is called arca-vigraha or arcāvatāra, the worshipable form, the Deity incarnation. This facility is offered to neophyte devotees so that they can see the real form of the Lord face to face and offer their respectful obeisances and sacrifices in the form of arcā. Through such facilities the neophytes gradually invoke their original Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Deity worship in the form of temple worship is the most valuable benediction given by the Lord to beginners. All neophytes must therefore engage in the worship of the Lord by keeping the arcā-vigraha (arcāvatāra) at home or in the temple. |
WTaavtv& ih iv>aui>a>aaRVYa& dqNaezu vTSalE/" ) YadNauSMaYaRTae k-ale/ SvbuÖya>ad]rNDaNa )) 28 )) etāvat tvaṁ hi vibhubhir bhāvyaṁ dīneṣu vatsalaiḥ yad anusmaryate kāle sva-buddhyābhadra-randhana SYNONYMS etāvat—thus; tvam—Your Lordship; hi—certainly; vibhubhiḥ—by expansions; bhāvyam—to be conceived; dīneṣu—unto the humble devotees; vatsalaiḥ—compassionate; yat—which; anusmaryate—is always remembered; kāle—in due course of time; sva-buddhyā—by one’s devotional service; abhadra-randhana—O killer of all inauspiciousness. TRANSLATION Dear Lord, You are the killer of all inauspicious things. You are compassionate upon Your poor devotees through the expansion of Your arcā-vigraha. You should certainly think of us as Your eternal servants. PURPORT The form of the Lord known as arcā-vigraha is an expansion of His unlimited potencies. When the Lord is gradually satisfied with the service of a devotee, in due course of time He accepts the devotee as one of His many unalloyed servants. By nature, the Lord is very compassionate; therefore the service of neophyte devotees is accepted by the Lord. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (9.26): patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ “If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.” The devotee offers eatables in the form of vegetables, fruits, leaves and water to the arcā-vigraha. The Lord, being bhakta-vatsala, compassionate upon His devotees, accepts these offerings. Atheists may think that the devotees are engaged in idol worship, but the fact is different. Janārdana, the Supreme Lord, accepts bhāva, the attitude of service. The neophyte devotee engaged in the worship of the Lord may not understand the value of such worship, but the Supreme Lord, being bhakta-vatsala, accepts His devotee and in due course of time takes him home. In this connection there is a story about a brāhmaṇa who was offering sweet rice to the Lord within his mind. The brāhmaṇa had no money nor any means of worshiping the Deity, but within his mind he arranged everything nicely. He had gold pots to bring water from the sacred rivers to wash the Deity, and he offered the Deity very sumptuous food, including sweet rice. Once, before he offered the sweet rice, he thought that it was too hot, and he thought, “Oh, let me test it. My, it is very hot.” When he put his finger in the sweet rice to test it, his finger was burned and his meditation broken. Although he was offering food to the Lord within his mind, the Lord accepted it nonetheless. Consequently, the Lord in Vaikuṇṭha immediately sent a chariot to bring the brāhmaṇa back home, back to Godhead. Thus it is the duty of every sincere devotee to accept the arcā-vigraha at home or in the temple and worship the form of the Lord as advised in authorized scriptures and directed by the spiritual master. |
TEXT 29 YaeNaaePaXaaiNTa>aURTaaNaa& +auçk-aNaaMaPaqhTaaMa( ) ANTaihRTaae_NTaôRdYae k-SMaaàae ved NaaiXaz" )) 29 )) yenopaśāntir bhūtānāṁ kṣullakānām apīhatām antarhito ’ntar-hṛdaye kasmān no veda nāśiṣaḥ SYNONYMS yena—by which process; upaśāntiḥ—satisfaction of all desires; bhūtānām—of the living entities; kṣullakānām—very much fallen; api—although; īhatām—desiring many things; antarhitaḥ—hidden; antaḥ-hṛdaye—in the core of the heart; kasmāt—why; naḥ—our; veda—He knows; na—not; āśiṣaḥ—desires. TRANSLATION When the Lord, out of His natural compassion, thinks of His devotee, by that process only are all desires of the neophyte devotee fulfilled. The Lord is situated in every living entity’s heart, although the living entity may be very insignificant. The Lord knows everything about the living entity, including all his desires. Although we are very insignificant, why should the Lord not know our desires? PURPORT A very advanced devotee does not think himself advanced. He is always very humble. The Supreme Personality of Godhead in His plenary expansion as the Paramātmā, or Supersoul, sits in everyone’s heart and can understand the attitudes and desires of His devotees. The Lord also gives opportunity to the nondevotees to fulfill their desires, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca [Bg. 15.15]). Whatever a living entity desires, however insignificant he may be, is noted by the Lord, who gives him a chance to fulfill his desires. If the desires of the nondevotees are fulfilled, why not those of the devotee? A pure devotee simply wants to engage in the service of the Lord without material desire, and if he wants this within the core of his heart, where the Lord is situated, and if he is without ulterior motive, why should the Lord not understand? If a sincere devotee renders service to the Lord or to the arcā-vigraha, the form of the Lord, all his activities prove successful because the Lord is present within his heart and understands his sincerity. Thus if a devotee, with all confidence, goes on discharging the prescribed duties of devotional service, he will ultimately attain success. |
TEXT 30 ASaavev vrae_SMaak-MaqiPSaTaae JaGaTa" PaTae ) Pa[Saàae >aGavaNa( YaezaMaPavGaRGauåGaRiTa" )) 30 )) asāv eva varo ’smākam īpsito jagataḥ pate prasanno bhagavān yeṣām apavarga-gurur gatiḥ SYNONYMS asau—that; eva—certainly; varaḥ—benediction; asmākam—our; īpsitaḥ—desired; jagataḥ—of the universe; pate—O Lord; prasannaḥ—satisfied; bhagavān—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; yeṣām—with whom; apavarga—of transcendental loving service; guruḥ—the teacher; gatiḥ—the ultimate goal of life. TRANSLATION O Lord of the universe, You are the actual teacher of the science of devotional service. We are satisfied that Your Lordship is the ultimate goal of our lives, and we pray that You will be satisfied with us. That is our benediction. We do not desire anything other than Your full satisfaction. PURPORT In this verse the words apavarga-gurur gatiḥ are very significant. According to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.11), the Supreme Lord is the ultimate fact of the Absolute Truth. Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate. The Absolute Truth is realized in three features—impersonal Brahman, localized Paramātmā and ultimately the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Bhagavān. The word apavarga means “liberation.” pavarga means “material existence.” In material existence, one always works very hard but is ultimately baffled. One then dies and has to accept another body to work very hard again. This is the cycle of material existence. Apavarga means just the opposite. Instead of working hard like cats and dogs, one returns home, back to Godhead. Liberation begins with merging into the Brahman effulgence of the Supreme Lord. This conception is held by the jñānī-sampradāya, philosophical speculators, but realization of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is higher. When a devotee understands that the Lord is satisfied, liberation, or merging into the effulgence of the Lord, is not very difficult. One has to approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead through the impersonal Brahman effulgence just as one has to approach the sun through the sunshine. It is not very difficult to merge into the impersonal effulgence of the Lord, Brahman, if one has satisfied the Supreme Personality of Godhead. |
vr& v*<aqMahe_QaaiPa NaaQa TvTParTa" ParaTa( ) Na ùNTaSTviÜ>aUTaqNaa& Saae_NaNTa wiTa GaqYaSae )) 31 )) varaṁ vṛṇīmahe ’thāpi nātha tvat parataḥ parāt na hy antas tvad-vibhūtīnāṁ so ’nanta iti gīyase SYNONYMS varam—benediction; vṛṇīmahe—we shall pray for; atha api—therefore; nātha—O Lord; tvat—from You; parataḥ parāt—beyond the transcendence; na—not; hi—certainly; antaḥ—end; tvat—Your; vibhūtīnām—of opulences; saḥ—You; anantaḥ—unlimited; iti—thus; gīyase—are celebrated. TRANSLATION Dear Lord, we shall therefore pray for Your benediction because You are the Supreme, beyond all transcendence, and because there is no end to Your opulences. Consequently, You are celebrated by the name Ananta. PURPORT There was no need for the Pracetās to ask any benediction from the Supreme Lord because the devotees are simply satisfied by the presence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Dhruva Mahārāja practiced severe austerities and penances to see the Supreme Lord, and his intention was to receive benediction from the Lord. He wanted to acquire the throne of his father—or attain an even better position—but when he was actually in the presence of the Supreme Lord, he forgot everything. He said, “My dear Lord, I do not wish to ask any benediction.” This is the actual position of the devotee. The devotee simply wants to be in the presence of the Supreme Lord—either in this world or in the next—and engage in His service. That is the ultimate goal and benediction for the devotees. The Lord asked the Pracetās to pray for some benediction, and they said, “What kind of benediction should we pray for? The Lord is unlimited, and there are unlimited benedictions.” The purport is that if one must ask for benediction, he must ask for unlimited benediction. The words tvat parataḥ are very significant in this verse. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is parataḥ parāt. The word para means “transcendental, beyond this material world.” The impersonal Brahman effulgence is beyond this material world, and this is called paraṁ padam. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padam (Bhāg. 10.2.32). Merging into the impersonal effulgence of the Lord is called paraṁ padam, but there is a higher transcendental position, which is the association of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate (Bhāg. 1.2.11). The Absolute Truth is realized first as impersonal Brahman, then as Paramātmā, and finally as Bhagavān. Thus the Personality of Godhead, Bhagavān, is parataḥ parāt, beyond Brahman and Paramātmā realization. In this connection, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī points out that parataḥ parāt means “better than the best.” The best is the spiritual world, and it is known as Brahman. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, however, is known as Parabrahman. Therefore parataḥ parāt means “better than Brahman realization.” As will be explained in the next verses, the Pracetās planned to ask the Lord for something that has no limit. The Lord’s pastimes, qualities, forms and names are all unlimited. There is no limit to His name, forms, pastimes, creation and paraphernalia. The living entity cannot conceive of the unlimitedness of the unlimited. However, if living entities are engaged in hearing about the unlimited potencies of the Supreme Lord, they are factually connected directly to the unlimited. Such understanding of the unlimited becomes unlimited by hearing and chanting. |
TEXT 35 Ya}ae@yNTae k-Qaa Ma*íaSTa*Z<aaYaa" Pa[XaMaae YaTa" ) iNavOEr& Ya}a >aUTaezu NaaeÜeGaae Ya}a k-êNa )) 35 )) yatreḍyante kathā mṛṣṭās tṛṣṇāyāḥ praśamo yataḥ nirvairaṁ yatra bhūteṣu nodvego yatra kaścana SYNONYMS yatra—where; īḍyante—are worshiped or discussed; kathāḥ—words; mṛṣṭāḥ—pure; tṛṣṇāyāḥ—of material hankerings; praśamaḥ—satisfaction; yataḥ—by which; nirvairam—nonenviousness; yatra—where; bhūteṣu—among living entities; na—not; udvegaḥ—fear; yatra—where; kaścana—any. TRANSLATION Whenever pure topics of the transcendental world are discussed, the members of the audience forget all kinds of material hankerings, at least for the time being. Not only that, but they are no longer envious of one another, nor do they suffer from anxiety or fear. PURPORT Vaikuṇṭha means “without anxiety,” and the material world means full of anxiety. As stated by Prahlāda Mahārāja: sadā samudvigna-dhiyām asad-grahāt. The living entities who have accepted this material world as a residence are full of anxiety. A place immediately becomes Vaikuṇṭha whenever the holy topics of the Personality of Godhead are discussed by pure devotees. This is the process of śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ [SB 7.5.23], chanting and hearing about the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu. As the Supreme Lord Himself confirms: nāhaṁ tiṣṭhāmi vaikuṇṭhe yogināṁ hṛdayeṣu vā tatra tiṣṭhāmi nārada yatra gāyanti mad-bhaktāḥ “My dear Nārada, actually I do not reside in My abode, Vaikuṇṭha, nor do I reside within the hearts of the yogīs, but I reside in that place where My pure devotees chant My holy name and discuss My form, pastimes and qualities.” Because of the presence of the Lord in the form of the transcendental vibration, the Vaikuṇṭha atmosphere is evoked. This atmosphere is without fear and anxiety. One living entity does not fear another. By hearing the holy names and glories of the Lord, a person executes pious activities. Śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ (Bhāg. 1.2.17). Thus his material hankerings immediately stop. This saṅkīrtana movement started by the Society for Krishna Consciousness is meant for creating Vaikuṇṭha, the transcendental world that is without anxiety, even in this material world. The method is the propagation of the śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam process throughout the world. In the material world everyone is envious of his fellow man. Animalistic envy exists in human society as long as there is no performance of saṅkīrtana-yajña, the chanting of the holy names—Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. The Pracetās therefore decided to remain always in the society of devotees, and they considered that to be the highest benediction possible in human life. |
Taeza& ivcrTaa& Pad(>Yaa& TaqQaaRNaa& PaavNaeC^Yaa ) >aqTaSYa ik&- Na raeceTa Taavk-aNaa& SaMaaGaMa" )) 37 )) teṣāṁ vicaratāṁ padbhyāṁ tīrthānāṁ pāvanecchayā bhītasya kiṁ na roceta tāvakānāṁ samāgamaḥ SYNONYMS teṣām—of them; vicaratām—who travel; padbhyām—by their feet; tīrthānām—the holy places; pāvana-icchayā—with a desire to purify; bhītasya—to the materialistic person who is always fearful; kim—why; na—not; roceta—becomes pleasing; tāvakānām—of Your devotees; samāgamaḥ—meeting. TRANSLATION Dear Lord, Your personal associates, devotees, wander all over the world to purify even the holy places of pilgrimage. Is not such activity pleasing to those who are actually afraid of material existence? PURPORT There are two kinds of devotees. One is called goṣṭhānandī and the other bhajanānandī. The word bhajanānandī refers to the devotee who does not move, but remains in one place. Such a devotee is always engaged in the devotional service of the Lord. He chants the mahā-mantra as taught by many ācāryas and sometimes goes out for preaching work. The goṣṭhānandī is one who desires to increase the number of devotees all over the world. He travels all over the world just to purify the world and the people residing in it. Caitanya Mahāprabhu advised: pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi grāma sarvatra pracāra haibe mora nāma Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu wanted His followers to move all over the world to preach in every town and village. In the Caitanya-sampradāya those who strictly follow the principles of Lord Caitanya must travel all over the world to preach the message of Lord Caitanya, which is the same as preaching the words of Kṛṣṇa—Bhagavad-gītā—and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The more the devotees preach the principles of kṛṣṇa-kathā, the more people throughout the world will benefit. Devotees like the great sage Nārada, who travel all over to preach, are called goṣṭhānandī. Nārada Muni is always wandering throughout the universe just to create different types of devotees. Nārada even made a hunter a devotee. He also made Dhruva Mahārāja and Prahlāda devotees. Actually, all devotees are indebted to the great sage Nārada, for he has wandered both in heaven and in hell. A devotee of the Lord is not even afraid of hell. He goes to preach the glories of the Lord everywhere—even in hell—because there is no distinction between heaven and hell for a devotee. nārāyaṇa-parāḥ sarve na kutaścana bibhyati svargāpavarga-narakeṣv api tulyārtha-darśinaḥ “A pure devotee of Nārāyaṇa is never afraid of going anywhere and everywhere. For him heaven and hell are one and the same.” (Bhāg. 6.17.28) Such devotees, wandering all over the world, deliver those who are actually afraid of this material existence. Some people are already disgusted with material existence, being confused and frustrated by material enjoyment, and some people, who are intelligent, are interested in understanding the Supreme Lord. Both may take advantage of the pure devotee who wanders throughout the world. When a pure devotee goes to a place of pilgrimage, he desires to purify that holy place of pilgrimage. Many sinful men bathe in the holy waters of the places of pilgrimage. They take their baths in the waters of the Ganges and Yamunā at places such as Prayāga, Vṛndāvana and Mathurā. In this way the sinful men are purified, but their sinful actions and reactions remain at the holy places of pilgrimage. When a devotee comes to take his bath at those places of pilgrimage, the sinful reactions left by the sinful men are neutralized by the devotee. Tīrthī-kurvanti tīrthāni svāntaḥ-sthena gadā-bhṛtā (Bhāg. 1.13.10). Because the devotee always carries the Supreme Personality of Godhead within his heart, wherever he goes becomes a place of pilgrimage, a holy place for understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is therefore the duty of everyone to associate with a pure devotee and thus attain freedom from material contamination. Everyone should take advantage of the wandering devotees, whose only business is to deliver conditioned souls from the clutches of māyā. |
TEXT 38 vYa& Tau Saa+aaÙGavNa( >avSYa iPa[YaSYa Sa:Yau" +a<aSa(r)MaeNa ) Sauduiêik-TSYaSYa >avSYa Ma*TYaae‚ i>aRz¢-Ma& TvaÛ GaiTa& GaTaa" SMa )) 38 )) vayaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavan bhavasya priyasya sakhyuḥ kṣaṇa-saṅgamena suduścikitsyasya bhavasya mṛtyor bhiṣaktamaṁ tvādya gatiṁ gatāḥ sma SYNONYMS vayam—we; tu—then; sākṣāt—directly; bhagavan—O Lord; bhavasya—of Lord Śiva; priyasya—very dear; sakhyuḥ—Your friend; kṣaṇa—for a moment; saṅgamena—by association; suduścikitsyasya—very difficult to cure; bhavasya—of material existence; mṛtyoḥ—of death; bhiṣak-tamam—the most expert physician; tvā—You; adya—today; gatim—destination; gatāḥ—have achieved; sma—certainly. TRANSLATION Dear Lord, by virtue of a moment’s association with Lord Śiva, who is very dear to You and who is Your most intimate friend, we were fortunate to attain You. You are the most expert physician, capable of treating the incurable disease of material existence. On account of our great fortune, we have been able to take shelter at Your lotus feet. PURPORT It has been said: hariṁ vinā na sṛtiṁ taranti. Without taking shelter of the lotus feet of the Personality of Godhead, one cannot attain relief from the clutches of māyā, the repetition of birth, old age, disease and death. The Pracetās received the shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead by the grace of Lord Śiva. Lord Śiva is the supreme devotee of Lord Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Vaiṣṇavānāṁ yathā śambhuḥ: the most exalted Vaiṣṇava is Lord Śiva, and those who are actually devotees of Lord Śiva follow Lord Śiva’s advice and take shelter at the lotus feet of Lord Viṣṇu. The so-called devotees of Lord Śiva, who are simply after material prosperity, are in a way deceived by Lord Śiva. He does not actually deceive them, because Lord Śiva has no business deceiving people, but because the so-called devotees of Lord Śiva want to be deceived, Lord Śiva, who is very easily pleased, allows them all kinds of material benedictions. These benedictions might ironically result in the destruction of the so-called devotees. For instance, Rāvaṇa took all material benediction from Lord Śiva, but the result was that he was ultimately destroyed with his family, kingdom and everything else because he misused Lord Śiva’s benediction. Because of his material power, he became very proud and puffed up so that he dared kidnap the wife of Lord Rāmacandra. In this way he was ruined. To get material benedictions from Lord Śiva is not difficult, but actually these are not benedictions. The Pracetās received benediction from Lord Śiva, and as a result they attained the shelter of the lotus feet of Lord Viṣṇu. This is real benediction. The gopīs also worshiped Lord Śiva in Vṛndāvana, and the lord is still staying there as Gopīśvara. The gopīs, however, prayed that Lord Śiva bless them by giving them Lord Kṛṣṇa as their husband. There is no harm in worshiping the demigods, provided that one’s aim is to return home, back to Godhead. Generally people go to the demigods for material benefit, as indicated in Bhagavad-gītā (7.20): kāmais tais tair hṛta-jñānāḥ prapadyante ’nya-devatāḥ taṁ taṁ niyamam āsthāya prakṛtyā niyatāḥ svayā “Those whose minds are distorted by material desires surrender unto demigods and follow the particular rules and regulations of worship according to their own natures.” One enamored by material benefits is called hṛta jñāna (“one who has lost his intelligence”). In this connection it is to be noted that sometimes in revealed scriptures Lord Śiva is described as being nondifferent from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The point is that Lord Śiva and Lord Viṣṇu are so intimately connected that there is no difference in opinion. The actual fact is, ekale īśvara kṛṣṇa, āra saba bhṛtya: “The only supreme master is Kṛṣṇa, and all others are His devotees or servants.” (Cc. Ādi 5.142) This is the real fact, and there is no difference of opinion between Lord Śiva and Lord Viṣṇu in this connection. Nowhere in revealed scripture does Lord Śiva claim to be equal to Lord Viṣṇu. This is simply the creation of the so-called devotees of Lord Śiva, who claim that Lord Śiva and Lord Viṣṇu are one. This is strictly forbidden in the Vaiṣṇava-tantra: yas tu nārāyaṇaṁ devam. Lord Viṣṇu, Lord Śiva and Lord Brahmā are intimately connected as master and servants. Śiva-viriñci-nutam. Viṣṇu is honored and offered obeisances by Lord Śiva and Lord Brahmā. To consider that they are all equal is a great offense. They are all equal in the sense that Lord Viṣṇu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and all others are His eternal servants. |
TEXTS 39–40 Yaà" SvDaqTa& Gaurv" Pa[SaaidTaa ivPa[aê v*Öaê SadaNauv*tYaa ) AaYaaR NaTaa" Sauôdae >a]aTarê SavaRi<a >aUTaaNYaNaSaUYaYaEv )) 39 )) Yaà" SauTaá& TaPa WTadqXa iNarNDaSaa& k-al/Mad>a]MaPSau ) Sav| TadeTaTPauåzSYa >aUManae v*<aqMahe Tae PairTaaez<aaYa )) 40 )) yan naḥ svadhītaṁ guravaḥ prasāditā viprāś ca vṛddhāś ca sad-ānuvṛttyā āryā natāḥ suhṛdo bhrātaraś ca sarvāṇi bhūtāny anasūyayaiva yan naḥ sutaptaṁ tapa etad īśa nirandhasāṁ kālam adabhram apsu sarvaṁ tad etat puruṣasya bhūmno vṛṇīmahe te paritoṣaṇāya SYNONYMS yat—what; naḥ—by us; svadhītam—studied; guravaḥ—superior persons, spiritual masters; prasāditāḥ—satisfied; viprāḥ—the brāhmaṇas; ca—and; vṛddhāḥ—those who are elderly; ca—and; sat-ānuvṛttyā—by our gentle behavior; āryāḥ—those who are advanced in spiritual knowledge; natāḥ—were offered obeisances; su-hṛdaḥ—friends; bhrātaraḥ—brothers; ca—and; sarvāṇi—all; bhūtāni—living entities; anasūyayā—without envy; eva—certainly; yat—what; naḥ—of us; su-taptam—severe; tapaḥ—penance; etat—this; īśa—O Lord; nirandhasām—without taking any food; kālam—time; adabhram—for a long duration; apsu—within the water; sarvam—all; tat—that; etat—this; puruṣasya—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; bhūmnaḥ—the most exalted; vṛṇīmahe—we want this benediction; te—of You; paritoṣaṇāya—for the satisfaction. TRANSLATION Dear Lord, we have studied the Vedas, accepted a spiritual master and offered respect to brāhmaṇas, advanced devotees and aged personalities who are spiritually very advanced. We have offered our respects to them, and we have not been envious of any brother, friends or anyone else. We have also undergone severe austerities within the water and have not taken food for a long time. All these spiritual assets of ours are simply offered for Your satisfaction. We pray for this benediction only, and nothing more. PURPORT As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam: [SB 1.2.13] the real perfection of life is pleasing the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ: [Bg. 15.15] in understanding the Vedas, one has to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One who has actually understood Him surrenders unto Him after many, many births. We find all these qualifications in the Pracetās. They underwent severe austerities and penances within the water, and they did not take any food for a very long time. They practiced these austerities not for material benediction but for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord. One may engage in any business—material or spiritual—but the purpose should be the satisfaction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This verse presents a perfect picture of Vedic civilization. People training to become devotees should be respectful not only to the Supreme Personality of Godhead but also to those who are elderly in knowledge, who are Āryans and actual devotees of the Lord. An Āryan is one who does not boast, but is an actual devotee of the Lord. Āryan means “advanced.” Formerly, those who claimed to be Āryans had to be devotees of the Lord. For instance, in Bhagavad-gītā (2.2) Kṛṣṇa chastised Arjuna by saying that he was speaking like a non-Āryan. śrī-bhagavān uvāca kutas tvā kaśmalam idaṁ viṣame samupasthitam anārya-juṣṭam asvargyam akīrti-karam arjuna “The Supreme Person [Bhagavān] said: My dear Arjuna, how have these impurities come upon you? They are not at all befitting a man who knows the progressive values of life. They do not lead to higher planets, but to infamy.” Arjuna, the kṣatriya, was refusing to fight despite being directly ordered by the Supreme Lord. He was thus chastised by the Lord as belonging to a non-Āryan family. Anyone who is advanced in the devotional service of the Lord certainly knows his duty. It does not matter whether his duty is violent or nonviolent. If it is sanctioned and ordered by the Supreme Lord, it must be performed. An Āryan performs his duty. It is not that the Āryans are unnecessarily inimical to living entities. The Āryans never maintain slaughterhouses, and they are never enemies of poor animals. The Pracetās underwent severe austerities for many, many years, even within the water. Accepting austerities and penances is the avowed business of those interested in advanced civilization. The word nirandhasām means “without food.” Eating voraciously and unnecessarily is not the business of an Āryan. Rather, the eating process should be restricted as far as possible. When Āryans eat, they eat only prescribed eatables. Regarding this, the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (9.26): patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ “If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.” Thus there are restrictions for the advanced Āryans. Although the Lord Himself can eat anything and everything, He restricts Himself to vegetables, fruits, milk and so on. This verse thus describes the activities of those who claim to be Āryans. |
TEXT 41 MaNau" SvYaM>aU>aRGavaNa( >avê Yae_NYae TaPaaejaNaivéuÖSatva" ) Ad*íPaara AiPa YaNMaihMan" STauvNTYaQaae TvaTMaSaMa& Ga*<aqMa" )) 41 )) manuḥ svayambhūr bhagavān bhavaś ca ye ’nye tapo-jñāna-viśuddha-sattvāḥ adṛṣṭa-pārā api yan-mahimnaḥ stuvanty atho tvātma-samaṁ gṛṇīmaḥ SYNONYMS manuḥ—Svāyambhuva Manu; svayambhūḥ—Lord Brahmā; bhagavān—the most powerful; bhavaḥ—Lord Śiva; ca—also; ye—who; anye—others; tapaḥ—by austerity; jñāna—by knowledge; viśuddha—pure; sattvāḥ—whose existence; adṛṣṭa-pārāḥ—who cannot see the end; api—although; yat—Your; mahimnaḥ—of glories; stuvanti—they offer prayers; atho—therefore; tvā—unto You; ātma-samam—according to capacity; gṛṇīmaḥ—we offered prayers. TRANSLATION Dear Lord, even great yogīs and mystics who are very much advanced by virtue of austerities and knowledge and who have completely situated themselves in pure existence, as well as great personalities like Manu, Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva, cannot fully understand Your glories and potencies. Nonetheless they have offered their prayers according to their own capacities. In the same way, we, although much lower than these personalities, also offer our prayers according to our own capability. PURPORT Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, Manu (the father of mankind), great saintly persons and also great sages who have elevated themselves to the transcendental platform through austerities and penance, as well as devotional service, are imperfect in knowledge compared to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is the case with anyone within this material world. No one can be equal to the Supreme Lord in anything, certainly not in knowledge. Consequently, anyone’s prayer to the Supreme Personality of Godhead is never complete. It is not possible to measure the complete glories of the Supreme Lord, who is unlimited. Even the Lord Himself in His incarnation as Ananta, or Śeṣa, cannot describe His own glories. Although Ananta has many thousands of faces and has been glorifying the Lord for many, many years, He could not find the limit of the glories of the Lord. Thus it is not possible to estimate the complete potencies and glories of the Supreme Lord. Nonetheless, everyone in devotional service can offer essential prayers to the Lord. Everyone is situated in a relative position, and no one is perfect in glorifying the Lord. Beginning with Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva down to ourselves, everyone is the servant of the Supreme Lord. We are all situated in relative positions according to our own karma. Yet every one of us can offer prayers with heart and soul as far as we can appreciate the Lord’s glories. That is our perfection. Even when one is in the darkest region of existence, he is allowed to offer prayers to the Lord according to his own capacity. The Lord therefore says in Bhagavad-gītā (9.32): māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya ye ’pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ striyo vaiśyās tathā śūdrās te ’pi yānti parāṁ gatim “O son of Pṛthā, those who take shelter in Me, though they be of lower birth—women, vaiśyas [merchants], as well as śūdras [workers]—can approach the supreme destination.” If one seriously accepts the lotus feet of the Lord, he is purified by the grace of the Lord and by the grace of the Lord’s servant. This is confirmed by Śukadeva Gosvāmī: ye ’nye ca pāpā yad-apāśrayāśrayāḥ śudhyanti tasmai prabhaviṣṇave namaḥ (Bhāg. 2.4.18). One who is brought under the lotus feet of the Lord by the endeavor of the Lord’s servant, the spiritual master, is certainly immediately purified, however lowborn he may be. He becomes eligible to return home, back to Godhead. |
NaMa" SaMaaYa éuÖaYa PauåzaYa ParaYa c ) vaSaudevaYa SatvaYa Tau>Ya& >aGavTae NaMa" )) 42 )) namaḥ samāya śuddhāya puruṣāya parāya ca vāsudevāya sattvāya tubhyaṁ bhagavate namaḥ SYNONYMS namaḥ—we offer our respectful obeisances; samāya—who is equal to everyone; śuddhāya—who is never contaminated by sinful activities; puruṣāya—unto the Supreme Person; parāya—transcendental; ca—also; vāsudevāya—living everywhere; sattvāya—who is in the transcendental position; tubhyam—unto You; bhagavate—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; namaḥ—obeisances. TRANSLATION Dear Lord, You have no enemies or friends. Therefore You are equal to everyone. You cannot be contaminated by sinful activities, and Your transcendental form is always beyond the material creation. You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead because You remain everywhere within all existence. You are consequently known as Vāsudeva. We offer You our respectful obeisances. PURPORT The Supreme Personality of Godhead is known as Vāsudeva because He lives everywhere. The word vas means “to live.” As stated in Brahma-saṁhitā, eko ’py asau racayituṁ jagad-aṇḍa-koṭim: [Bs. 5.35] the Lord, through His plenary portion, enters into each and every universe to create the material manifestation. He also enters into each and every heart in all living entities and into each and every atom also (paramāṇu-cayāntara-stham). Because the Supreme Lord lives everywhere, He is known as Vāsudeva. Although He lives everywhere within the material world, He is not contaminated by the modes of nature. The Lord is therefore described in Īśopaniṣad as apāpa-viddham. He is never contaminated by the modes of material nature. When the Lord descends on this planet, He acts in many ways. He kills demons and performs acts not sanctioned by the Vedic principles, that is, acts considered sinful. Even though He acts in such a way, He is never contaminated by His action. He is therefore described herein as śuddha, meaning “always free from contamination.” The Lord is also sama, equal to everyone. In this regard, He states in Bhagavad-gītā (9.29), samo’haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu na me dveṣyo ’sti na priyaḥ: the Lord has no one as His friend or enemy, and He is equal to everyone. The word sattvāya indicates that the form of the Lord is not material. It is sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ [Bs. 5.1]. His body is different from our material bodies. One should not think that the Supreme Personality of Godhead has a material body, like ours. |
TEXT 44 AQa iNaYaaRYa Sail/l/aTPa[ceTaSa odNvTa" ) vq+Yaaku-PYaNd]uMaEX^àa& Gaa& Gaa& raed(DauiMavaeiC^\TaE" )) 44 )) atha niryāya salilāt pracetasa udanvataḥ vīkṣyākupyan drumaiś channāṁ gāṁ gāṁ roddhum ivocchritaiḥ SYNONYMS atha—thereafter; niryāya—after coming out; salilāt—from the water; pracetasaḥ—all the Pracetās; udanvataḥ—of the sea; vīkṣya—having observed; akupyan—became very angry; drumaiḥ—by trees; channām—covered; gām—the world; gām—the heavenly planets; roddhum—to obstruct; iva—as if; ucchritaiḥ—very tall. TRANSLATION Thereafter all the Pracetās emerged from the waters of the sea. They then saw that all the trees on land had grown very tall, as if to obstruct the path to the heavenly planets. These trees had covered the entire surface of the world. At this time the Pracetās became very angry. PURPORT King Prācīnabarhiṣat left his kingdom before his sons arrived after their execution of penance and austerity. The sons, the Pracetās, were ordered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead to come out of the water and go to the kingdom of their father in order to take care of that kingdom. However, when they came out, they saw that everything had been neglected due to the King’s absence. They first observed that food grains were not being produced and that there were no agricultural activities. Indeed, the surface of the world was practically covered by very tall trees. It seemed as though the trees were determined to stop people from going into outer space to reach the heavenly kingdoms. The Pracetās became very angry when they saw the surface of the globe covered in this way. They desired that the land be cleared for crops. It is not a fact that jungles and trees attract clouds and rain, because we find rainfall over the sea. Human beings can inhabit any place on the surface of the earth by clearing jungles and converting land for agricultural purposes. People can keep cows, and all economic problems can be solved in that way. One need only work to produce grains and take care of the cows. The wood found in the jungles may be used for constructing cottages. In this way the economic problem of humanity can be solved. At the present moment there are many vacant lands throughout the world, and if they are properly utilized, there will be no scarcity of food. As far as rain is concerned, it is the performance of yajña that attracts rain. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (3.14): annād bhavanti bhūtāni parjanyād anna-sambhavaḥ yajñād bhavati parjanyo yajñaḥ karma-samudbhavaḥ “All living bodies subsist on food grains, which are produced from rains. Rains are produced by performance of yajña [sacrifice], and yajña is born of prescribed duties.” By performing sacrifice, man will have sufficient rainfall and crops. |
Tae c b]ø<a AadeXaaNMaairzaMauPaYaeiMare ) YaSYaa& MahdvjaNaadJaNYaJaNaYaaeiNaJa" )) 48 )) te ca brahmaṇa ādeśān māriṣām upayemire yasyāṁ mahad-avajñānād ajany ajana-yonijaḥ SYNONYMS te—all the Pracetās; ca—also; brahmaṇaḥ—of Lord Brahmā; ādeśāt—by the order; māriṣām—Māriṣā; upayemire—married; yasyām—in whom; mahat—to a great personality; avajñānāt—on account of disrespect; ajani—took birth; ajana-yoni-jaḥ—the son of Lord Brahmā, Dakṣa. TRANSLATION Following the order of Lord Brahmā, all the Pracetās accepted the girl as their wife. From the womb of this girl, the son of Lord Brahmā named Dakṣa took birth. Dakṣa had to take birth from the womb of Māriṣā due to his disobeying and disrespecting Lord Mahādeva [Śiva]. Consequently he had to give up his body twice. PURPORT In this connection the word mahad-avajñānāt is significant. King Dakṣa was the son of Lord Brahmā; therefore in a previous birth he was a brāhmaṇa, but because of his behaving like a non-brāhmaṇa (abrāhmaṇa) by insulting or disrespecting Lord Mahādeva, he had to take birth within the semen of a kṣatriya. That is to say, he became the son of the Pracetās. Not only that, but because of his disrespecting Lord Śiva, he had to undergo the tribulation of taking birth from within the womb of a woman. In the Dakṣa-yajña arena, he was once killed by Lord Śiva’s servant, Vīrabhadra. Because that was not sufficient, he again took birth, from the womb of Māriṣā. At the end of the Dakṣa-yajña and the disastrous incidents there, Dakṣa offered his prayer to Lord Śiva. Although he had to give up his body and take birth from the womb of a woman impregnated by the semen of a kṣatriya, he received all opulence by the grace of Lord Śiva. These are the subtle laws of material nature. Unfortunately, people in this modern age do not know how these laws are working. Having no knowledge of the eternity of the spirit soul and its transmigration, the population of the present age is in the greatest ignorance. Because of this, it is said in Bhāgavatam (1.1.10): mandāḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhāgyā hy upadrutāḥ. The total population in this age of Kali-yuga is very bad, lazy, unfortunate and disturbed by material conditions. |
TEXT 49 ca+auze TvNTare Pa[aáe Pa[aKSaGaeR k-al/ivd]uTae ) Ya" SaSaJaR Pa[Jaa wía" Sa d+aae dEvcaeidTa" )) 49 )) cākṣuṣe tv antare prāpte prāk-sarge kāla-vidrute yaḥ sasarja prajā iṣṭāḥ sa dakṣo daiva-coditaḥ SYNONYMS cākṣuṣe—named Cākṣuṣa; tu—but; antare—the manvantara; prāpte—when it happened; prāk—previous; sarge—creation; kāla-vidrute—destroyed in due course of time; yaḥ—one who; sasarja—created; prajāḥ—living entities; iṣṭāḥ—desirable; saḥ—he; dakṣaḥ—Dakṣa; daiva—by the Supreme Personality of Godhead; coditaḥ—inspired. TRANSLATION His previous body had been destroyed, but he, the same Dakṣa, inspired by the supreme will, created all the desired living entities in the Cākṣuṣa manvantara. PURPORT As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (8.17): sahasra-yuga-paryantam ahar yad brahmaṇo viduḥ rātriṁ yuga-sahasrāntāṁ te ’ho-rātra-vido janāḥ “By human calculation, a thousand ages taken together is the duration of Brahmā’s one day. And such also is the duration of his night.” Brahmā’s one day consists of one thousand cycles of the four yugas—Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali. In that one day there are fourteen manvantaras, and out of these manvantaras this Cākṣuṣa manvantara is the sixth. The various Manus existing in one day of Lord Brahmā are as follows: (1) Svāyambhuva, (2) Svārociṣa, (3) Uttama, (4) Tāmasa, (5) Raivata, (6) Cākṣuṣa, (7) Vaivasvata, (8) Sāvarṇi, (9) Dakṣasāvarṇi, (10) Brahma-sāvarṇi, ( 11) Dharma-sāvarṇi, (12) Rudra-sāvarṇi, (13) Deva-sāvarṇi and (14) Indra-sāvarṇi. Thus there are fourteen Manus in one day of Brahmā. In a year there are 5,040 Manus. Brahmā has to live for one hundred years; consequently, the total of Manus appearing and disappearing during the life of one Brahmā is 504,000. This is the calculation for one universe, and there are innumerable universes. All these Manus come and go simply by the breathing process of Mahā-Viṣṇu. As stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā: yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya jīvanti loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ viṣṇur mahān sa iha yasya kalā-viśeṣo govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi [Bs. 5.48] The word jagad-aṇḍa-nātha means Lord Brahmā. There are innumerable jagad-aṇḍa-nātha Brahmās, and thus we can calculate the many Manus. The present age is under the control of Vaivasvata Manu. Each Manu lives 4,320,000 years multiplied by 71. The present Manu has already lived for 4,320,000 years multiplied by 28. All these long life-spans are ultimately ended by the laws of material nature. The controversy of the Dakṣa-yajña took place in the Svāyambhuva manvantara period. As a result, Dakṣa was punished by Lord Śiva, but by virtue of his prayers to Lord Śiva he became eligible to regain his former opulence. According to Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, Dakṣa underwent severe penances up to the fifth manvantara. Thus at the beginning of the sixth manvantara, known as the Cākṣuṣa manvantara, Dakṣa regained his former opulence by the blessings of Lord Śiva. |
TEXTS 39–40 Yaà" SvDaqTa& Gaurv" Pa[SaaidTaa ivPa[aê v*Öaê SadaNauv*tYaa ) AaYaaR NaTaa" Sauôdae >a]aTarê SavaRi<a >aUTaaNYaNaSaUYaYaEv )) 39 )) Yaà" SauTaá& TaPa WTadqXa iNarNDaSaa& k-al/Mad>a]MaPSau ) Sav| TadeTaTPauåzSYa >aUManae v*<aqMahe Tae PairTaaez<aaYa )) 40 )) yan naḥ svadhītaṁ guravaḥ prasāditā viprāś ca vṛddhāś ca sad-ānuvṛttyā āryā natāḥ suhṛdo bhrātaraś ca sarvāṇi bhūtāny anasūyayaiva yan naḥ sutaptaṁ tapa etad īśa nirandhasāṁ kālam adabhram apsu sarvaṁ tad etat puruṣasya bhūmno vṛṇīmahe te paritoṣaṇāya SYNONYMS yat—what; naḥ—by us; svadhītam—studied; guravaḥ—superior persons, spiritual masters; prasāditāḥ—satisfied; viprāḥ—the brāhmaṇas; ca—and; vṛddhāḥ—those who are elderly; ca—and; sat-ānuvṛttyā—by our gentle behavior; āryāḥ—those who are advanced in spiritual knowledge; natāḥ—were offered obeisances; su-hṛdaḥ—friends; bhrātaraḥ—brothers; ca—and; sarvāṇi—all; bhūtāni—living entities; anasūyayā—without envy; eva—certainly; yat—what; naḥ—of us; su-taptam—severe; tapaḥ—penance; etat—this; īśa—O Lord; nirandhasām—without taking any food; kālam—time; adabhram—for a long duration; apsu—within the water; sarvam—all; tat—that; etat—this; puruṣasya—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; bhūmnaḥ—the most exalted; vṛṇīmahe—we want this benediction; te—of You; paritoṣaṇāya—for the satisfaction. TRANSLATION Dear Lord, we have studied the Vedas, accepted a spiritual master and offered respect to brāhmaṇas, advanced devotees and aged personalities who are spiritually very advanced. We have offered our respects to them, and we have not been envious of any brother, friends or anyone else. We have also undergone severe austerities within the water and have not taken food for a long time. All these spiritual assets of ours are simply offered for Your satisfaction. We pray for this benediction only, and nothing more. PURPORT As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam: [SB 1.2.13] the real perfection of life is pleasing the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ: [Bg. 15.15] in understanding the Vedas, one has to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One who has actually understood Him surrenders unto Him after many, many births. We find all these qualifications in the Pracetās. They underwent severe austerities and penances within the water, and they did not take any food for a very long time. They practiced these austerities not for material benediction but for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord. One may engage in any business—material or spiritual—but the purpose should be the satisfaction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This verse presents a perfect picture of Vedic civilization. People training to become devotees should be respectful not only to the Supreme Personality of Godhead but also to those who are elderly in knowledge, who are Āryans and actual devotees of the Lord. An Āryan is one who does not boast, but is an actual devotee of the Lord. Āryan means “advanced.” Formerly, those who claimed to be Āryans had to be devotees of the Lord. For instance, in Bhagavad-gītā (2.2) Kṛṣṇa chastised Arjuna by saying that he was speaking like a non-Āryan. śrī-bhagavān uvāca kutas tvā kaśmalam idaṁ viṣame samupasthitam anārya-juṣṭam asvargyam akīrti-karam arjuna “The Supreme Person [Bhagavān] said: My dear Arjuna, how have these impurities come upon you? They are not at all befitting a man who knows the progressive values of life. They do not lead to higher planets, but to infamy.” Arjuna, the kṣatriya, was refusing to fight despite being directly ordered by the Supreme Lord. He was thus chastised by the Lord as belonging to a non-Āryan family. Anyone who is advanced in the devotional service of the Lord certainly knows his duty. It does not matter whether his duty is violent or nonviolent. If it is sanctioned and ordered by the Supreme Lord, it must be performed. An Āryan performs his duty. It is not that the Āryans are unnecessarily inimical to living entities. The Āryans never maintain slaughterhouses, and they are never enemies of poor animals. The Pracetās underwent severe austerities for many, many years, even within the water. Accepting austerities and penances is the avowed business of those interested in advanced civilization. The word nirandhasām means “without food.” Eating voraciously and unnecessarily is not the business of an Āryan. Rather, the eating process should be restricted as far as possible. When Āryans eat, they eat only prescribed eatables. Regarding this, the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (9.26): patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ “If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.” Thus there are restrictions for the advanced Āryans. Although the Lord Himself can eat anything and everything, He restricts Himself to vegetables, fruits, milk and so on. This verse thus describes the activities of those who claim to be Āryans. |
TEXT 2 dqi+aTaa b]øSa}ae<a SavR>aUTaaTMaMaeDaSaa ) Pa[TaqCYaa& idiXa vel/aYaa& iSaÖae_>aUÛ}a JaaJail/" )) 2 )) dīkṣitā brahma-satreṇa sarva-bhūtātma-medhasā pratīcyāṁ diśi velāyāṁ siddho ’bhūd yatra jājaliḥ SYNONYMS dīkṣitāḥ—being determined; brahma-satreṇa—by understanding of the Supreme Spirit; sarva—all; bhūta—living entities; ātma-medhasā—considering like one’s self; pratīcyām—in the western; diśi—direction; velāyām—on the seashore; siddhaḥ—perfect; abhūt—became; yatra—where; jājaliḥ—the great sage Jājali. TRANSLATION The Pracetās went to the seashore in the west where the great liberated sage Jājali was residing. After perfecting the spiritual knowledge by which one becomes equal toward all living entities, the Pracetās became perfect in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. PURPORT The word brahma-satra means “cultivation of spiritual knowledge.” Actually, both the Vedas and severe austerity are known as brahma. Vedas tattvaṁ tapo brahma. Brahma also means “the Absolute Truth.” One has to cultivate knowledge of the Absolute Truth by pursuing studies in the Vedas and undergoing severe austerities and penances. The Pracetās properly executed this function and consequently became equal to all other living entities. As Bhagavad-gītā (18.54) confirms: brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām “One who is thus transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman and becomes fully joyful. He never laments nor desires to have anything; he is equally disposed to every living entity. In that state he attains pure devotional service unto Me.” When one actually becomes spiritually advanced, he does not see the difference between one living entity and another. This platform is attained by determination. When perfect knowledge is expanded, one ceases to see the outward covering of the living entity. He sees, rather, the spirit soul within the body. Thus he does not make distinctions between a human being and an animal, a learned brāhmaṇa and a caṇḍāla. vidyā-vinaya-sampanne brāhmaṇe gavi hastini śuni caiva śvapāke ca paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ “The humble sage, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned and gentle brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste].” (Bg. 5.18) A learned person sees everyone equally on a spiritual basis, and a learned person, a devotee, wants to see everyone developed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The place where the Pracetās were residing was perfect for executing spiritual activities, for it is indicated that the great sage Jājali attained mukti (liberation) there. One desiring perfection or liberation should associate with a person who is already liberated. This is called sādhu-saṅga, associating with a perfect devotee. |
TaaiàiJaRTaPa[a<aMaNaaevcaed*Xaae iJaTaaSaNaaNa( XaaNTaSaMaaNaivGa]haNa( ) Pare_Male/ b]øi<a YaaeiJaTaaTMaNa" SauraSaure@yae dd*Xae SMa Naard" )) 3 )) tān nirjita-prāṇa-mano-vaco-dṛśo jitāsanān śānta-samāna-vigrahān pare ’male brahmaṇi yojitātmanaḥ surāsureḍyo dadṛśe sma nāradaḥ SYNONYMS tān—all of them; nirjita—completely controlled; prāṇa—the life air (by the prāṇāyāma process); manaḥ—mind; vacaḥ—words; dṛśaḥ—and vision; jita-āsanān—who conquered the yogic āsana, or sitting posture; śānta—pacified; samāna—straight; vigrahān—whose bodies; pare—transcendental; amale—free from all material contamination; brahmaṇi—in the Supreme; yojita—engaged; ātmanaḥ—whose minds; sura-asura-īḍyaḥ—worshiped by the demons and by the demigods; dadṛśe—saw; sma—in the past; nāradaḥ—the great sage Nārada. TRANSLATION After practicing the yogāsana for mystic yoga, the Pracetās managed to control their life air, mind, words and external vision. Thus by the prāṇāyāma process they were completely relieved of material attachment. By remaining perpendicular, they could concentrate their minds on the uppermost Brahman. While they were practicing this prāṇāyāma, the great sage Nārada, who is worshiped both by demons and by demigods, came to see them. PURPORT In this verse the words pare amale are significant. The realization of Brahman is explained in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The Absolute Truth is realized in three phases—impersonal effulgence (Brahman), localized Paramātmā and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Bhagavān. In his prayers, Lord Śiva concentrated upon the personal features of Parabrahman, described in personal terms as snigdha-prāvṛḍ-ghana-śyāmam (Bhāg. 4.24.45). Following the instructions of Lord Śiva, the Pracetās also concentrated their minds on the Śyāmasundara form of the Supreme Brahman. Although impersonal Brahman, Paramātmā Brahman and Brahman as the Supreme Person are all on the same transcendental platform, the personal feature of the Supreme Brahman is the ultimate goal and last word in transcendence. The great sage Nārada travels everywhere. He goes to the demons and the demigods and is equally respected. He is consequently described herein as surāsureḍya, worshiped both by demons and by demigods. For Nārada Muni, the door of every house is open. Although there is perpetual animosity between the demons and demigods, Nārada Muni is welcomed everywhere. Nārada is considered one of the demigods, of course, and the word devarṣi means “the saintly person among the demigods.” But not even the demons envy Nārada Muni; therefore he is equally worshiped both by demons and by demigods. A perfect Vaiṣṇava’s position should be just like Nārada Muni’s, completely independent and unbiased. |
TEXT 6 Yadaidí& >aGavTaa iXaveNaaDaae+aJaeNa c ) Tad( Ga*hezu Pa[Sa¢-aNaa& Pa[aYaXa" +aiPaTa& Pa[>aae )) 6 )) yad ādiṣṭaṁ bhagavatā śivenādhokṣajena ca tad gṛheṣu prasaktānāṁ prāyaśaḥ kṣapitaṁ prabho SYNONYMS yat—what; ādiṣṭam—was instructed; bhagavatā—by the exalted personality; śivena—Lord Śiva; adhokṣajena—by Lord Viṣṇu; ca—also; tat—that; gṛheṣu—to family affairs; prasaktānām—by us who were too much attached; prāyaśaḥ—almost; kṣapitam—forgotten; prabho—O master. TRANSLATION O master, may we inform you that because of our being overly attached to family affairs, we almost forgot the instructions we received from Lord Śiva and Lord Viṣṇu. PURPORT Remaining in family life is a kind of concession for sense enjoyment. One should know that sense enjoyment is not required, but one has to accept sense enjoyment inasmuch as one has to live. As confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.10): kāmasya nendriya-prītiḥ. One has to become a gosvāmī and control his senses. One should not simply use his senses for sense gratification; rather, the senses should be employed just as much as required for maintaining body and soul together. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī recommends: anāsaktasya viṣayān yathārham upayuñjataḥ. One should not be attached to sense objects, but should accept sense enjoyment as much as required, no more. If one wishes to enjoy the senses more than required, he becomes attached to family life, which means bondage. All the Pracetās admitted their fault in remaining in household life. |
ik&- JaNMai>aiñi>aveRh XaaE§-Saaiv}aYaaijkE-" ) k-MaRi>avaR }aYaqPa[ae¢E-" Pau&Saae_iPa ivbuDaaYauza )) 10 )) kiṁ janmabhis tribhir veha śaukra-sāvitra-yājñikaiḥ karmabhir vā trayī-proktaiḥ puṁso ’pi vibudhāyuṣā SYNONYMS kim—what is the use; janmabhiḥ—of births; tribhiḥ—three; vā—or; iha—in this world; śaukra—by semen; sāvitra—by initiation; yājñikaiḥ—by becoming a perfect brāhmaṇa; karmabhiḥ—by activities; vā—or; trayī—in the Vedas; proktaiḥ—instructed; puṁsaḥ—of a human being; api—even; vibudha—of the demigods; āyuṣā—with a duration of life. TRANSLATION A civilized human being has three kinds of births. The first birth is by a pure father and mother, and this birth is called birth by semen. The next birth takes place when one is initiated by the spiritual master, and this birth is called sāvitra. The third birth, called yājñika, takes place when one is given the opportunity to worship Lord Viṣṇu. Despite the opportunities for attaining such births, even if one gets the life-span of a demigod, if one does not actually engage in the service of the Lord, everything is useless. Similarly, one’s activities may be mundane or spiritual, but they are useless if they are not meant for satisfying the Lord. PURPORT The word śaukra janma means “taking birth by seminal discharge.” Animals can take their birth in this way too. However, a human being can be reformed from the śaukra janma, as recommended in the Vedic civilization. Before the birth takes place, or before father and mother unite, there is a ceremony called garbhādhāna-saṁskāra, which must be adopted. This garbhādhāna-saṁskāra is especially recommended for higher castes, especially the brāhmaṇa caste. It is said in the śāstras that if the garbhādhāna-saṁskāra is not practiced among the higher castes, the entire family becomes śūdra. It is also stated that in this age of Kali, everyone is śūdra due to the absence of the garbhādhāna-saṁskāra. This is the Vedic system. According to the pāñcarātrika system, however, even though everyone is a śūdra due to the absence of the garbhādhāna-saṁskāra, if a person has but a little tendency to become Kṛṣṇa conscious, he should be given the chance to elevate himself to the transcendental platform of devotional service. Our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement adopts this pāñcarātrika-vidhi, as advised by Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī, who says: yathā kāñcanatāṁ yāti kāṁsyaṁ rasa-vidhānataḥ tathā dīkṣā-vidhānena dvijatvaṁ jāyate nṛṇām “As bell metal, when mixed with mercury, is transformed to gold, a person, even though not golden pure, can be transformed into a brāhmaṇa, or dvija, simply by the initiation process.” (Hari-bhakti-vilāsa 2.12) Thus if one is initiated by a proper person, he can be accepted as twice-born immediately. In our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, we therefore offer the student his first initiation and allow him to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. By chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra regularly and following the regulative principles, one becomes qualified to be initiated as a brāhmaṇa, because unless one is a qualified brāhmaṇa he cannot be allowed to worship Lord Viṣṇu. This is called yājñika janma. In our Kṛṣṇa consciousness society, unless one is twice initiated—first by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and second by the Gāyatrī mantra—he is not allowed to enter the kitchen or Deity room to execute duties. However, when one is elevated to the platform on which he can worship the Deity, his previous birth does not matter. caṇḍālo ’pi dvija-śreṣṭho hari-bhakti-parāyaṇaḥ hari-bhakti-vihīnaś ca dvijo ’pi śvapacādhamaḥ “Even if one is born in the family of a caṇḍāla, if one engages in the devotional service of the Lord, he becomes the best of brāhmaṇas. But even a brāhmaṇa who is devoid of devotional service is on the level of the lowest dog-eater.” If a person is advanced in devotional service, it does not matter whether he was born in a caṇḍāla family. He becomes purified. As Śrī Prahlāda Mahārāja said: viprād dviṣaḍ-guṇa-yutād aravinda-nābha- pādāravinda-vimukhāc chvapacaṁ variṣṭham (Bhāg. 7.9.10) Even if one is a brāhmaṇa and is qualified with all the brahminical qualifications, he is considered degraded if he is averse to worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But if a person is attached to the service of the Lord, he becomes glorified even if he is born in a caṇḍāla family. Indeed, such a caṇḍāla can deliver not only himself but all his family predecessors. Without devotional service, even a proud brāhmaṇa cannot deliver himself, and what to speak of his family. In many instances in the śāstras it is seen that even a brāhmaṇa has become a kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra, mleccha or non-brāhmaṇa. And there are many instances of one’s being born a kṣatriya or vaiśya or even lower and, in the eighteenth year, attaining elevation to the brahminical platform by the process of initiation. Therefore Nārada Muni says: yasya yal lakṣaṇaṁ proktaṁ puṁso varṇābhivyañjakam yad anyatrāpi dṛśyeta tat tenaiva vinirdiśet (Bhāg. 7.11.35) It is not a fact that because one is born in a brāhmaṇa family he is automatically a brāhmaṇa. He has a better chance to become a brāhmaṇa, but unless he meets all the brahminical qualifications, he cannot be accepted as such. On the other hand, if the brahminical qualifications are found in the person of a śūdra, he should immediately be accepted as a brāhmaṇa. To substantiate this there are many quotations from Bhāgavatam, Mahābhārata, Bharadvāja-saṁhitā and the pañcarātra, as well as many other scriptures. As far as the duration of life of the demigods, concerning Lord Brahmā it is said: sahasra-yuga-paryantam ahar yad brahmaṇo viduḥ rātriṁ yuga-sahasrāntāṁ te ’ho-rātra-vido janāḥ (Bg. 8.17) The duration of one day of Brahmā is one thousand times greater than the four yugas, aggregating 4,320,000 years. Similarly, Brahmā’s one night. Brahmā lives for one hundred years of such days and nights. The word vibudhāyuṣā indicates that even if one gets a long life-span, his life-span is useless if he is not a devotee. A living entity is the eternal servitor of the Supreme Lord, and unless he comes to the platform of devotional service, his life-span, good birth, glorious activities and everything else are null and void. |
TEXT 11 é[uTaeNa TaPaSaa va ik&- vcaei>aiêtav*itai>a" ) buÖya va ik&- iNaPau<aYaa ble/NaeiNd]YaraDaSaa )) 11 )) śrutena tapasā vā kiṁ vacobhiś citta-vṛttibhiḥ buddhyā vā kiṁ nipuṇayā balenendriya-rādhasā SYNONYMS śrutena—by Vedic education; tapasā—by austerities; vā—or; kim—what is the meaning; vacobhiḥ—by words; citta—of consciousness; vṛttibhiḥ—by the occupations; buddhyā—by intelligence; vā—or; kim—what is the use; nipuṇayā—expert; balena—by bodily strength; indriya-rādhasā—by power of the senses. TRANSLATION Without devotional service, what is the meaning of severe austerities, the process of hearing, the power of speech, the power of mental speculation, elevated intelligence, strength, and the power of the senses? PURPORT From the Upaniṣads (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 3.2.3) we learn: nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhyo na medhayā na bahunā śrutena yam evaiṣa vṛṇute tena labhyas tasyaiṣa ātmā vivṛṇute tanūṁ svām Our relationship with the Supreme Lord is never advanced by simple study of the Vedas. There are many Māyāvādī sannyāsīs fully engaged in studying the Vedas, Vedānta-sūtra and Upaniṣads, but unfortunately they cannot grasp the real essence of knowledge. In other words, they do not know the Supreme Personality of Godhead. What, then, is the use in studying all the Vedas if one cannot grasp the essence of the Vedas, Kṛṣṇa? The Lord confirms in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15), vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ: “By all the Vedas, I am to be known.” There are many religious systems wherein penances and austerities are greatly stressed, but at the end no one understands Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There is therefore no point in such penance (tapasya). If one has actually approached the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he does not need to undergo severe austerities. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is understood through the process of devotional service. In the Ninth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā devotional service is explained as rāja-guhyam, the king of all confidential knowledge. There are many good reciters of Vedic literatures, and they recite works such as the Rāmāyaṇa, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Bhagavad-gītā. Sometimes these professional readers manifest very good scholarship and exhibit word jugglery. Unfortunately they are never devotees of the Supreme Lord. Consequently, they cannot impress upon the audience the real essence of knowledge, Kṛṣṇa. There are also many thoughtful writers and creative philosophers, but despite all their learning, if they cannot approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they are simply useless mental speculators. There are many sharply intelligent people in this material world, and they discover so many things for sense gratification. They also analytically study all the material elements, but despite their expert knowledge and expert scientific analysis of the whole cosmic manifestation, their endeavors are useless because they cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As far as our senses are concerned, there are many animals, both beasts and birds, who are very expert in exercising their senses more keenly than human beings. For example, vultures or hawks can go very high in the sky, but can see a small body on the ground very clearly. This means that their eyesight is so keen that they can find an eatable corpse from a great distance. Certainly their eyesight is much keener than human beings’, but this does not mean that their existence is more important than that of a human being. Similarly, dogs can smell many things from a far distance. Many fish can understand by the power of sound that an enemy is coming. All these examples are described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. If one’s senses cannot help him attain the highest perfection of life, realization of the Supreme, they are all useless. |
é[eYaSaaMaiPa SaveRzaMaaTMaa ùviDarQaRTa" ) SaveRzaMaiPa >aUTaaNaa& hirraTMaaTMad" iPa[Ya" )) 13 )) śreyasām api sarveṣām ātmā hy avadhir arthataḥ sarveṣām api bhūtānāṁ harir ātmātmadaḥ priyaḥ SYNONYMS śreyasām—of auspicious activities; api—certainly; sarveṣām—all; ātmā—the self; hi—certainly; avadhiḥ—destination; arthataḥ—factually; sarveṣām—of all; api—certainly; bhūtānām—living entities; hariḥ—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; ātmā—the Supersoul; ātma-daḥ—who can give us our original identity; priyaḥ—very dear. TRANSLATION Factually the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the original source of all self-realization. Consequently, the goal of all auspicious activities—karma, jñāna, yoga and bhakti—is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. PURPORT The living entity is the marginal energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the material world is the external energy. Under the circumstances, one must understand that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is factually the original source of both matter and spirit. This is explained in the Seventh Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā (7.4–5): bhūmir āpo ’nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca ahaṅkāra itīyaṁ me bhinnā prakṛtir aṣṭadhā apareyam itas tv anyāṁ prakṛtiṁ viddhi me parām jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat “Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego—all together these eight comprise My separated material energies. But besides this inferior nature, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is a superior energy of Mine, which consists of all living entities who are struggling with material nature and are sustaining the universe.” The entire cosmic manifestation is but a combination of matter and spirit. The spiritual part is the living entity, and these living entities are described as prakṛti, or energy. The living entity is never described as puruṣa, the Supreme Person; therefore to identify the living entity with the Supreme Lord is simply ignorance. The living entity is the marginal potency of the Supreme Lord, although there is factually no difference between the energy and the energetic. The duty of the living entity is to understand his real identity. When he does, Kṛṣṇa gives him all the facilities to come to the platform of devotional service. That is the perfection of life. This is indicated in the Vedic Upaniṣad: yam evaiṣa vṛṇute tena labhyas tasyaiṣa ātmā vivṛṇute tanūṁ svām Lord Kṛṣṇa confirms this in Bhagavad-gītā (10.10): teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ yena mām upayānti te “To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.” The conclusion is that one must come to the platform of bhakti-yoga, even though one may begin with karma-yoga, jñāna-yoga or aṣṭāṅga-yoga. Unless one comes to the platform of bhakti-yoga, self-realization or realization of the Absolute Truth cannot be achieved. |
TEXT 14 YaQaa TaraeMaURl/iNazecNaeNa Ta*PYaiNTa TaTSk-NDa>auJaaePaXaa%a" ) Pa[a<aaePaharaÀ YaQaeiNd]Yaa<aa& TaQaEv SavaRhR<aMaCYauTaeJYaa )) 14 )) yathā taror mūla-niṣecanena tṛpyanti tat-skandha-bhujopaśākhāḥ prāṇopahārāc ca yathendriyāṇāṁ tathaiva sarvārhaṇam acyutejyā SYNONYMS yathā—as; taroḥ—of a tree; mūla—the root; niṣecanena—by watering; tṛpyanti—are satisfied; tat—its; skandha—trunk; bhuja—branches; upaśākhāḥ—and twigs; prāṇa—the life air; upahārāt—by feeding; ca—and; yathā—as; indriyāṇām—of the senses; tathā eva—similarly; sarva—of all demigods; arhaṇam—worship; acyuta—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; ijyā—worship. TRANSLATION As pouring water on the root of a tree energizes the trunk, branches, twigs and everything else, and as supplying food to the stomach enlivens the senses and limbs of the body, simply worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead through devotional service automatically satisfies the demigods, who are parts of that Supreme Personality. PURPORT Sometimes people ask why this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement simply advocates worship of Kṛṣṇa to the exclusion of the demigods. The answer is given in this verse. The example of pouring water on the root of a tree is very appropriate. In Bhagavad-gītā (15.1) it is said, ūrdhva-mūlam adhaḥ-śākham: this cosmic manifestation has expanded downward, and the root is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As the Lord confirms in Bhagavad-gītā (10.8), ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ: “I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds.” Kṛṣṇa is the root of everything; therefore rendering service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa (kṛṣṇa-sevā), means automatically serving all the demigods. Sometimes it is argued that karma and jñāna require a mixture of bhakti in order to be successfully executed, and sometimes it is argued that bhakti also requires karma and jñāna for its successful termination. The fact is, however, that although karma and jñāna cannot be successful without bhakti, bhakti does not require the help of karma and jñāna. Actually, as described by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam: [Madhya 19.167] pure devotional service should not be contaminated by the touch of karma and jñāna. Modern society is involved in various types of philanthropic works, humanitarian works and so on, but people do not know that these activities will never be successful unless Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is brought into the center. One may ask what harm there is in worshiping Kṛṣṇa and the different parts of His body, the demigods, and the answer is also given in this verse. The point is that by supplying food to the stomach, the indriyas, the senses, are automatically satisfied. If one tries to feed his eyes or ears independently, the result is only havoc. Simply by supplying food to the stomach, we satisfy all of the senses. It is neither necessary nor feasible to render separate service to the individual senses. The conclusion is that by serving Kṛṣṇa (kṛṣṇa-sevā), everything is complete. As confirmed in Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 22.62), kṛṣṇe bhakti kaile sarva-karma kṛta haya: if one is engaged in the devotional service of the Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, everything is automatically accomplished. |
YaQaEv SaUYaaRTPa[>aviNTa var" PauNaê TaiSMaNa( Pa[ivXaiNTa k-ale/ ) >aUTaaiNa >aUMaaE iSQarJa(r)MaaiNa TaQaa hravev Gau<aPa[vah" )) 15 )) yathaiva sūryāt prabhavanti vāraḥ punaś ca tasmin praviśanti kāle bhūtāni bhūmau sthira-jaṅgamāni tathā harāv eva guṇa-pravāhaḥ SYNONYMS yathā—as; eva—certainly; sūryāt—from the sun; prabhavanti—is generated; vāraḥ—water; punaḥ—again; ca—and; tasmin—unto it; praviśanti—enters; kāle—in due course of time; bhūtāni—all living entities; bhūmau—to the earth; sthira—not moving; jaṅgamāni—and moving; tathā—similarly; harau—unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; eva—certainly; guṇa-pravāhaḥ—emanation of material nature. TRANSLATION During the rainy season, water is generated from the sun, and in due course of time, during the summer season, the very same water is again absorbed by the sun. Similarly, all living entities, moving and inert, are generated from the earth, and again, after some time, they all return to the earth as dust. Similarly, everything emanates from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and in due course of time everything enters into Him again. PURPORT Because of their poor fund of knowledge, impersonalist philosophers cannot understand how everything comes out from the Supreme person and then merges into Him again. As Brahma-saṁhitā (5.40) confirms: yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi- koṭiṣv aśeṣa-vasudhādi-vibhūti-bhinnam tad brahma niṣkalam anantam aśeṣa-bhūtaṁ govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi Transcendental rays emanate from the body of Kṛṣṇa, and within those rays, which are the Brahman effulgence, everything is existing. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (9.4). Mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni. Although Kṛṣṇa is not personally present everywhere, His energy is the cause of all creation. The entire cosmic manifestation is nothing but a display of Kṛṣṇa’s energy. The two examples given in this verse are very vivid. During the rainy season, the rain, by rejuvenating the production of vegetables on earth, enables man and animals to obtain living energy. When there is no rain, food is scarce, and man and animal simply die. All vegetables, as well as moving living entities, are originally products of the earth. They come from the earth, and again they merge into the earth. Similarly, the total material energy is generated from the body of Kṛṣṇa, and at such a time the entire cosmic manifestation is visible. When Kṛṣṇa winds up His energy, everything vanishes. This is explained in a different way in Brahma-saṁhitā (5.48): yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya jīvanti loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ viṣṇur mahān sa iha yasya kalā-viśeṣo govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi This entire material creation comes from the body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and at the time of annihilation again enters into Him. This process of creation and dissolution is made possible by the breathing of the Mahā-Viṣṇu, who is only a plenary portion of Kṛṣṇa. |
TEXT 17 YaQaa Na>aSYa>a]TaMa"Pa[k-aXaa >aviNTa >aUPaa Na >avNTYaNau§-MaaTa( ) Wv& Pare b]øi<a Xa¢-YaSTvMaU rJaSTaMa" SatviMaiTa Pa[vah" )) 17 )) yathā nabhasy abhra-tamaḥ-prakāśā bhavanti bhūpā na bhavanty anukramāt evaṁ pare brahmaṇi śaktayas tv amū rajas tamaḥ sattvam iti pravāhaḥ SYNONYMS yathā—as; nabhasi—in the sky; abhra—clouds; tamaḥ—darkness; prakāśāḥ—and illumination; bhavanti—exist; bhū-pāḥ—O Kings; na bhavanti—do not appear; anukramāt—consecutively; evam—thus; pare—supreme; brahmaṇi—in the Absolute; śaktayaḥ—energies; tu—then; amūḥ—those; rajaḥ—passion; tamaḥ—darkness; sattvam—goodness; iti—thus; pravāhaḥ—emanation. TRANSLATION My dear Kings, sometimes in the sky there are clouds, sometimes there is darkness, and sometimes there is illumination. The appearance of all these takes place consecutively. Similarly, in the Supreme Absolute, the modes of passion, darkness and goodness appear as consecutive energies. Sometimes they appear, and sometimes they disappear. PURPORT Darkness, illumination and clouds sometimes appear and sometimes disappear, but even when they have disappeared, the potency is still there, always existing. In the sky sometimes we see clouds, sometimes rainfall and sometimes snow. Sometimes we see night, sometimes day, sometimes illumination and sometimes darkness. All these exist due to the sun, but the sun is unaffected by all these changes. Similarly, although the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the original cause of the total cosmic manifestation, He is unaffected by the material existence. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (7.4): bhūmir āpo ’nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca ahaṅkāra itīyaṁ me bhinnā prakṛtir aṣṭadhā “Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego—all together these eight comprise My separated material energies.” Although the material, or physical, elements are the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they are separate. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is therefore not affected by material conditions. The Vedānta-sūtra confirms, janmādy asya yataḥ: [SB 1.1.1] the creation, maintenance and dissolution of this cosmic manifestation are due to the existence of the Supreme Lord. Nonetheless, the Lord is unaffected by all these changes in the material elements. This is indicated by the word pravāha (“emanation”). The sun always shines brilliantly and is not affected by clouds or darkness. Similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is always present in His spiritual energy and is not affected by the material emanations. Brahma-saṁhitā (5.1) confirms: īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ anādir ādir govindaḥ sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam “Kṛṣṇa, who is known as Govinda, is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal, blissful, spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin, and He is the prime cause of all causes.” Although He is the supreme cause, the cause of all causes, He is still parama, transcendental, and His form is sac-cid-ānanda, eternal, spiritual bliss. Kṛṣṇa is the shelter of everything, and this is the verdict of all scripture. Kṛṣṇa is the remote cause, and material nature is the immediate cause of the cosmic manifestation. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is said that understanding prakṛti, or nature, to be the cause of everything is like understanding the nipples on the neck of a goat to be the cause of milk. Material nature is the immediate cause of the cosmic manifestation, but the original cause is Nārāyaṇa, Kṛṣṇa. Sometimes people think that the cause of an earthen pot is the earth. We see on a potter’s wheel a sufficient amount of earth to produce many pots, and although unintelligent men will say that the earth on the wheel is the cause of the pot, those who are actually advanced will find that the original cause is the potter, who supplies the earth and moves the wheel. Material nature may be a helping factor in the creation of this cosmic manifestation, but it is not the ultimate cause. In Bhagavad-gītā (9.10) the Lord therefore says: mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram “This material nature is working under My direction, O son of Kuntī, and producing all moving and unmoving beings.” The Supreme Lord casts His glance over material energy, and His glance agitates the three modes of nature. Creation then takes place. The conclusion is that nature is not the cause of the material manifestation. The Supreme Lord is the cause of all causes. |
TEXT 19 dYaYaa SavR>aUTaezu SaNTauíya YaeNa ke-Na va ) SaveRiNd]YaaePaXaaNTYaa c TauZYaTYaaéu JaNaadRNa" )) 19 )) dayayā sarva-bhūteṣu santuṣṭyā yena kena vā sarvendriyopaśāntyā ca tuṣyaty āśu janārdanaḥ SYNONYMS dayayā—by showing mercy; sarva-bhūteṣu—to all living entities; santuṣṭyā—by being satisfied; yena kena vā—somehow or other; sarva-indriya—all the senses; upaśāntyā—by controlling; ca—also; tuṣyati—becomes satisfied; āśu—very soon; janārdanaḥ—the Lord of all living entities. TRANSLATION By showing mercy to all living entities, being satisfied somehow or other and controlling the senses from sense enjoyment, one can very quickly satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Janārdana. PURPORT These are some of the ways in which the Supreme Personality of Godhead can be satisfied by the devotee. The first item mentioned is dayayā sarva-bhūteṣu, showing mercy to all conditioned souls. The best way to show mercy is to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The entire world is suffering for want of this knowledge. People should know that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the original cause of everything. Knowing this, everyone should directly engage in His devotional service. Those who are actually learned, advanced in spiritual understanding, should preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness all over the world so that people may take to it and make their lives successful. The word sarva-bhūteṣu is significant because it applies not only to species of life. The devotee can do good not only to humanity but to all living entities as well. Everyone can benefit spiritually by the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. When the transcendental vibration of Hare Kṛṣṇa is sounded, even the trees, animals and insects benefit. Thus when one chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra loudly, he actually shows mercy to all living entities. To spread the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement throughout the world, the devotees should be satisfied in all conditions. nārāyaṇa-parāḥ sarve na kutaścana bibhyati svargāpavarga-narakeṣv api tulyārtha-darśinaḥ (Bhāg. 6.17.28) It does not matter to the pure devotee if he has to go to hell to preach. The Supreme Lord lives in the heart of a hog, although the Lord is in Vaikuṇṭha. Even while preaching in hell, a pure devotee remains a pure devotee by his constant association with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. To attain this state, one has to control his senses. The senses are automatically controlled when one’s mind is engaged in the service of the Lord. |
TEXT 20 APahTaSak-lE/z<aaMal/aTMa‚ NYaivrTaMaeiDaTa>aavNaaePahUTa" ) iNaJaJaNavXaGaTvMaaTMaNaae_Ya‚ à SariTa i^d]vd+ar" SaTaa& ih )) 20 )) apahata-sakalaiṣaṇāmalātmany aviratam edhita-bhāvanopahūtaḥ nija-jana-vaśa-gatvam ātmano ’yan na sarati chidravad akṣaraḥ satāṁ hi SYNONYMS apahata—vanquished; sakala—all; eṣaṇa—desires; amala—spotless; ātmani—to the mind; aviratam—constantly; edhita—increasing; bhāvanā—with feeling; upahūtaḥ—being called; nija-jana—of His devotees; vaśa—under the control; gatvam—going; ātmanaḥ—His; ayan—knowing; na—never; sarati—goes away; chidra-vat—like the sky; akṣaraḥ—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; satām—of the devotees; hi—certainly. TRANSLATION Being completely cleansed of all material desires, the devotees are freed from all mental contamination. Thus they can always think of the Lord constantly and address Him very feelingly. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, knowing Himself to be controlled by His devotees, does not leave them for a second, just as the sky overhead never becomes invisible. PURPORT It is clear from the previous verse that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Janārdana, is very quickly satisfied by the activities of His devotees. The pure devotee is always absorbed in the thought of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As stated, śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ [SB 1.2.17]. By always thinking of Kṛṣṇa, the pure devotee’s heart is freed from all kinds of desires. In the material world, the heart of the living entity is filled with material desires. When the living entity is cleansed, he does not think of anything material. As the mind is completely cleansed, one attains the perfectional stage of mystic yoga, for then the yogī always sees the Supreme Personality of Godhead within his heart (dhyanāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaṁ yoginaḥ [SB 12.13.1]). As soon as the Lord is seated within the heart of the devotee, the devotee cannot be contaminated by the material modes of nature. As long as one is under the control of the material modes, he desires so many things and makes so many plans for material sense enjoyment, but as soon as the Lord is perceived in the heart, all material desires vanish. When the mind is completely free from material desire, the devotee can think of the Lord constantly. In this way he becomes completely dependent upon the lotus feet of the Lord. Caitanya Mahāprabhu prays: ayi nanda-tanuja kiṅkaraṁ patitaṁ māṁ viṣame bhavāmbudhau kṛpayā tava pāda-paṅkaja- sthita-dhūlī-sadṛśaṁ vicintaya “My dear Lord, I am Your eternal servant, but somehow or other I have fallen into the ocean of this material world. Kindly pick me up and fix me as a speck of dust at Your lotus feet.” (Śikṣāṣṭaka 5) Similarly, Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura prays: hā hā prabhu nanda-suta, vṛṣabhānu-sutā-yuta, karuṇā karaha ei-bāra narottama-dāsa kaya, nā ṭheliha rāṅgā-pāya, tomā vine ke āche āmāra “My dear Lord, You are now present with the daughter of King Vṛṣabhānu, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Now both of You please be merciful upon me. Don’t kick me away, because I have no shelter other than You.” In this way the Supreme Personality of Godhead becomes dependent on His devotee. The Lord is invincible, yet He is conquered by His pure devotee. He enjoys being dependent on His devotee, just as Kṛṣṇa enjoyed being dependent on the mercy of mother Yaśodā. Thinking Himself dependent on the devotee gives the Supreme Lord great enjoyment. Sometimes a king may engage a joker, and in the process of joking, the king is sometimes insulted. The king, however, enjoys these activities. Everyone worships the Supreme Lord with great reverence; therefore the Lord sometimes wants to enjoy the chastisement of His devotees. In this way the relationship eternally existing between the Lord and His devotees is fixed, just like the sky overhead. |
Tae_iPa TaNMau%iNaYaaRTa& YaXaae l/aek-Mal/aPahMa( ) hreiNaRXaMYa TaTPaad& DYaaYaNTaSTaÓiTa& YaYau" )) 24 )) te ’pi tan-mukha-niryātaṁ yaśo loka-malāpaham harer niśamya tat-pādaṁ dhyāyantas tad-gatiṁ yayuḥ SYNONYMS te—the Pracetās; api—also; tat—of Nārada; mukha—from the mouth; niryātam—gone forth; yaśaḥ—glorification; loka—of the world; mala—sins; apaham—destroying; hareḥ—of Lord Hari; niśamya—having heard; tat—of the Lord; pādam—feet; dhyāyantaḥ—meditating upon; tat-gatim—unto His abode; yayuḥ—went. TRANSLATION Hearing from Nārada’s mouth the glories of the Lord, which vanquish all the ill fortune of the world, the Pracetās also became attached to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Meditating on His lotus feet, they advanced to the ultimate destination. PURPORT Here it is seen that by hearing the glories of the Lord from a realized devotee the Pracetās easily attained strong attachment for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then, meditating on the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord at the end of their lives, they advanced to the ultimate goal, Viṣṇuloka. It is sure and certain that anyone who always hears the glories of the Lord and thinks of His lotus feet will reach that supreme destination. As Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (18.65): man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru mām evaiṣyasi satyaṁ te pratijāne priyo ’si me “Always think of Me and become My devotee. Worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend.” |
TEXT 28 wMaa& Tau k-aEzariv<aaePavi<aRTaa& +ataa iNaXaMYaaiJaTavadSaTk-QaaMa( ) Pa[v*Ö>aavae_é[uk-l/aku-l/ae MauNae‚ dRDaar MaUDNaaR cr<a& ôda hre" )) 28 )) imāṁ tu kauṣāraviṇopavarṇitāṁ kṣattā niśamyājita-vāda-sat-kathām pravṛddha-bhāvo ’śru-kalākulo muner dadhāra mūrdhnā caraṇaṁ hṛdā hareḥ SYNONYMS imām—all this; tu—then; kauṣāraviṇā—by Maitreya; upavarṇitām—described; kṣattā—Vidura; niśamya—after hearing; ajita-vāda—glorification of the Supreme Lord; sat-kathām—transcendental message; pravṛddha—enhanced; bhāvaḥ—ecstasies; aśru—of tears; kalā—by particles; ākulaḥ—overwhelmed; muneḥ—of the great sage; dadhāra—captured; mūrdhnā—by the head; caraṇam—the lotus feet; hṛdā—by the heart; hareḥ—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. TRANSLATION My dear King, in this way, after hearing the transcendental messages of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His devotees from the great sage Maitreya, Vidura was overwhelmed with ecstasy. With tears in his eyes, he immediately fell down at the lotus feet of his guru, his spiritual master. He then fixed the Supreme Personality of Godhead within the core of his heart. PURPORT This is a sign of associating with great devotees. A devotee takes instructions from a liberated soul and is thus overwhelmed by ecstasy from transcendental pleasure. As stated by Prahlāda Mahārāja: naiṣāṁ matis tāvad urukramāṅghriṁ spṛśaty anarthāpagamo yad-arthaḥ mahīyasāṁ pāda-rajo-’bhiṣekaṁ niṣkiñcanānāṁ na vṛṇīta yāvat (Bhāg. 7.5.32) One cannot become a perfect devotee of the Lord without having touched the lotus feet of a great devotee. One who has nothing to do with this material world is called niṣkiñcana. The process of self-realization and the path home, back to Godhead, means surrendering to the bona fide spiritual master and taking the dust of his lotus feet on one’s head. Thus one advances on the path of transcendental realization. Vidura had this relationship with Maitreya, and he attained the results. |